07 Mar

eye on …

The most intriguing college series of the weekend might be Rust College at Wiley College, a matchup of two of the best teams in the HBCUAC (formerly GCAC). Rust, making the trip from Holly Springs to Marshall, Texas, has won five straight to reach 7-8 and 3-0 in the league. The NAIA Bearcats scored a jaw-dropping 81 runs in their win streak, albeit against overmatched competition. Wiley (13-8, 5-1), the defending GCAC regular season champ, will pose a much bigger challenge. Kyrent Cole, a sophomore from Chicago, has been the sparkplug for Rust. He is batting .333 with a .554 on-base percentage; he has more walks (16) than hits (11). He has scored 17 runs, driven in 14 and stolen 14 bags. Malik Berrien leads the Bearcats in hitting at .432. Wiley’s top pitchers, whom the Bearcats are sure to face, are Isaac Burciaga, 3-1 with a 3.77 ERA, and Keyon Guillory (3-3, 3.06). Ivan Del Villar is batting .395 with five homers and 23 RBIs for the Wildcats. … Of note: William Carey University, ranked No. 12 in the new NAIA coaches poll, hosts SSAC foe Point U. this weekend in Hattiesburg, and Blue Mountain Christian welcomes NAIA No. 13 Faulkner for an SSAC series. Carey is 15-4 and 7-2 in the league, 10-2 at Wheeler Field. Point comes in at 6-15, 3-6. BMC has won seven of its last nine to reach 12-9 overall (5-4 SSAC). Faulkner, a traditional league power, brings a 14-3 (5-1 SSAC) record to the BMC SportsPlex.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

%d bloggers like this: