Simon Elfrink
Staff Writer
selfrink@murraystate.edu
Murray State Baseball will play Western Kentucky University on Wednesday, Feb. 19, followed by a four-game series against Saint Peter’s University from Feb. 21-23.
Western Kentucky
The Racers will open the second week of play with a game against Western Kentucky in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
The Racers have faced the Hilltoppers nine times, winning only two games since 2004. The last game the Racers won against the Hilltoppers was in 2012, when the Racers outscored the Hilltoppers 10-2 in a landslide victory.
Since then, however, the Racers haven’t been able to get the upper hand and look to break a four-game losing streak against the Hilltoppers.
The Hilltoppers come into 2020 following a mediocre 2019 season, going 26-29-1. They started this season winning two of three games against Valpo University.
After losing junior outfielder Jake Sanford to the New York Yankees in the third round of the MLB draft, the Hilltoppers look to fill the hole he left in the lineup.
Sanford led his team in virtually every offensive statistic, including batting average (.398), runs (65), hits (88), doubles (20), home runs (22) and RBIs (66). Sanford passed the torch to former classmates like senior infielder Jack Wilson, who held his own at the plate in 2019, hitting .307 with 15 doubles and 34 RBIs.
Two more leaders the Hilltoppers will look to build a lineup around are senior catcher Matt Phipps and senior infielder Kevin Lambert. Phipps and Lambert had nearly identical offensive statistics in 2019, both hitting just above .270 with 32 and 31 RBIs, respectively.
The Racers will see a familiar face on the infield against the Hilltoppers. Graduate student infielder Davis Sims was a Racer from 2016-2018 but transferred to WKU for the start of the 2019 season. As a Racer, Sims hit a career .333 with 150 hits and 102 RBIs in only two seasons, having redshirted his first year.
Sims has had similar success with the Hilltoppers, starting and playing first base in 27 games. While the season was cut short due to injury, Sims made his mark with the Hilltoppers by hitting .362 with 13 RBIs in that time. Sims is already making up for lost time, going 3-5 in the season opener against Valpo.
Senior infielder Richard Constantine will presumably become a role player in the lineup this season after hitting .376 and notching 25 RBIs in only 93 at-bats in 2019.
Saint Peter’s
Following the showcase against WKU, the Racers will play a four-game series against Saint Peter’s. The Racers and Peacocks have no history together.
The Peacocks come into the 2020 season hoping to leave all traces of last season behind them, having gone 5-46 in 2019.
Senior outfielder Hunter Mason is among the best returning hitters for the Peacocks. Mason hit an even .300 with a team-high 37 RBIs. Redshirt junior outfielder Andrew Connor also returns after hitting .296 with 12 RBIs.
Replacing offensive presences like third basemen Peter Ferony will be one of the Peacocks’ most pressing difficulties. The 2019 graduate hit a team-high of .302 and 32 RBIs, the most of any Peacock other than Mason.
Also absent from the lineup is infielder Jared Paladino, who will not return to play for the Peacocks after having a breakout freshman season where he played in all 51 games, hitting .277 with 30 RBIs. In 2019, the Peacocks’ struggled with consistent pitching, as the lowest ERA on the roster was junior pitcher Jean Candelaria’s 4.71.
The Racers will play the Hilltoppers at 3 p.m. in Bowling Green, Kentucky on Wednesday, Feb. 19 before returning to Reagan Field to face the Peacocks at 3 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21.