Baseball | 4/9/2018 2:03:00 PM

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Golden Eagles are set to host Lourdes and travel to Siena Heights this week for a pair of huge conference series. CU will host the Gray Wolves on Tuesday and Wednesday before traveling to the Saints on Friday and Saturday. Stay tuned to cugoldeneagles.com for updates on potential weather changes for this weeks game schedule. 

Opponent: Lourdes
Dates: Tuesday, April 10 – 5 p.m. & Wednesday, April 11 – 12 p.m. & 3 p.m. 
Location: Grand Rapids, Mich. (De Witt Field)
Internet Coverage: Live Video/Stats/Audio
 
Opponent: Siena Heights
Dates: Friday, April 13 – 4 p.m. & Saturday, April 14 – 1 p.m. & 4 p.m. 
Location: Adrian, Mich. (Siena Heights Baseball Diamond)
Internet Coverage: Live Video/Stats
 
Scouting Lourdes
Despite holding just, a 14-14, 5-10 WHAC record, Lourdes has been one of the best offensive teams in the WHAC, ranking first in the conference in runs batted in and team batting average this season. Jay Denman has started 26 games for the Gay Wolves this year and holds a team best .404 batting average with 34 runs scored. Pitching has been the biggest weak spot for LU this year, holding a team ERA of 5.73. Zach Brown and Matt York are the only two Lourdes pitchers with 25+ innings pitched, each holding an ERA higher than 4.50. 
 
Scouting Siena Heights
Senior Freddy Jehle leads the conference in batting average this season at .444 on the year to help the Saints to a 13-20, 6-8 WHAC record. SHU sits in the sixth and final playoff spot in the WHAC with 16 regular season games remaining. From the mound, Siena Heights has relied heavily on the arm of Reid Olmstead who leads the team with a 3.02 ERA, four wins, 30 strikeouts, and three complete games. Siena Heights has a game vs. Lourdes, at Aquinas, and at Saint Francis before hosting Cornerstone this weekend. 
 
Record vs. Top 25/RV
Cornerstone played just their second NAIA Top 25/RV opponent this week and dropped all three. On the year, CU is now 1-5 against NAIA Top 25/RV opponents with their only win coming in Florida against receiving votes Concordia. The Golden Eagles currently have no teams remaining on the schedule who are in the NAIA Top 25. 
 
Playoff Outlook
This week is a big one for the Golden Eagles as they will take two teams battling with them for the final spot in the WHAC Tournament. CU will start the week with eighth place Lourdes and finish the week with sixth place Siena Heights. Depending on what Cornerstone does this week will have heavy significance on if they make the sixth and final spot for the WHAC Tournament that begins the first week of May.
 
Krupansky's Defense
Junior Aaron Krupansky has continued to develop into a star defensive shortstop for the Golden Eagles, as he ranks third in the NAIA in assists per game at 3.2. On the year, Krupansky has made 109 putouts while only recording seven errors for a 0.957 fielding percentage. Krupansky has had a career year at the plate as well, with a career high .320 batting average, .402 slugging percentage, and .396 on base percentage. 
 
Complete Games
Senior Kyle Herrick has a new career high in complete games, recording his third of the year at UNOH last weekend. In 2017, Herrick threw two complete games in a CU uniform to give him five total in his Cornerstone career. Herrick currently leads the Golden Eagles with a 3.30 ERA, going 6+ innings in each of his last four starts. 
 
Catching Trio
Adam Harvey, Dustin DeBeau, and Eric Bradberry have all split time behind the plate this season, each getting hot at different times this season. DeBeau and Bradberry are each hitting above .300 on the year while DeBeau is second on the team with 20 RBI this season. Harvey is only hitting .152 on the year, but his bat did light up in his last start at UNOH going 2-5 at the plate with 1 RBI.