By: @n_jcamp
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Golden Eagles are set to play their home opener as three games will take place at De Witt Field this week with a single nine-inning game vs. Aquinas on Thursday and the WHAC opening double-header vs. Siena Heights on Saturday. Cornerstone comes into the year 8-10 overall after their spring trip at the Russ Matt Tournament.
Aquinas
Grand Rapids, Mich. (De Witt Field)
4 p.m.
Live Video
Live Stats
Siena Heights (DH)
Grand Rapids, Mich. (De Witt Field)
1 p.m.
Live Video
Live Stats
Russ Matt Recap
The Golden Eagles come off a ton of highlights from their trip to the Russ Matt Tournament where they completed 18 of their 22 scheduled games.
Austin Hurt and
Grant Young highlighted the action with school records, NAIA weekly honors, and WHAC weekly honors. Cornerstone beat their first NAIA top 10 team in (8) Keiser to highlight the action over the last two weeks.
WHAC Opener
The Golden Eagles will open WHAC play on Saturday against Siena Heights. Cornerstone comes off a fifth-place finish in the WHAC last year at 13-9 overall and a first-round exit in the UNOH pod during the conference tournament. Last year was the second year in program history that CU finished above .500 in WHAC play. Cornerstone has been outstanding in their previous matchups with Siena Heights, going 16-6 all-time while sweeping them last year.
Hurt's Home Run Record
Redshirt-junior
Austin Hurt is on an absolute tear at the plate as he is hitting .455 on the year with 10 HR's and 27 RBI. Hurt already has the single season program record for home runs beating Jake Klemme's previous record of eight. Hurt now holds the single game, single season, and career record for home runs at Cornerstone University as he has 22 in his career.
Scouting Aquinas
The Saints, under second year Head Coach Chris LaMange, come into Thursday's game with a 7-14 record. AQ has struggled of late, losing seven of their last eight contests in their spring trip to the Carolina's. Aquinas is very young with just four seniors on the roster. They have struggled on the mound as 15 players have pitched and they have a team ERA of 8.70. Sophoore catcher Dane Smitz leads the team with a .479 average and five doubles and he is one of six players who have hit over .300 so far this year.
Scouting Siena Heights
Siena Heights has struggled in the early going with a 5-12 overall record, going 0-4 in true road games. The offense has gotten off to a slow start as the team has hit .246. On the mound, the Saints have held their own behind leftie Parker Swartz who has a 2.89 ERA in four starts. Siena Heights is a pitch to contact team as they only have 65 strikeouts in 17 games for an average of 4.96 per nine innings.
Baseball Contact: Jesse Campbell
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