LIVE STATS - SPALDING | BIRMINGHAM-SOUTHERN
LIVE VIDEO - SPALDING | BIRMINGHAM-SOUTHERN
WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College baseball team heads down South for another three-game weekend from Friday-Sunday in the state of Alabama.
The Schedule: The Quakers will face Spalding University (Kentucky) at 3:30 p.m. (EST) on Friday followed by host Birmingham-Southern College (BSC) at 1:30 p.m. (EST) on Saturday. Both of the aforementioned contests will take place at Striplin Field on Birmingham-Southern's campus. On Sunday, Wilmington will battle DePauw University (Indiana) at the Hoover Met Complex in Hoover, Alabama. First pitch is slated for noon (EST).
The Teams: Wilmington, Spalding, Birmingham-Southern and DePauw. The Quakers are in search of their first victory on the season after falling in three games in Demorest, Georgia at the Piedmont Early Spring Tournament last weekend. The Eagles, who were picked second in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Preseason Poll, will be opening their season this weekend while the Tigers are an even 1-1. The Panthers stand at 6-1 having emerged from the BSC Spring Classic a perfect 4-0 while the Tigers enter the weekend 1-1.
The Coaches: Tony Vittorio, who formerly led the University of Dayton's baseball program for 18 seasons, is in his fifth season as Wilmington's head coach in 2023. He helped lead the Quakers to a 21-19 overall record last season. Matt Downs, a 2012 Spalding alumnus, is in his seventh season as the Eagles' head coach while Jan Weisberg has been at Birmingham-Southern for 16 seasons and has led the Panthers to over 400 victories during that time. Blake Allen was hired as DePauw's head coach in August of 2016.
The Hitters: Tyler Shaneyfelt and Evan Kelsey are both hitting over a .500 clip and have combined for 13 of Wilmington's 23 hits as a team. Fifth-year senior Caleb Scott has driven in five of the team's six runs. Junior outfielder Jacob Spanyer returns for Spalding after hitting a .371 clip with 53 hits, 47 RBIs and 10 home runs. Ian Hanock leads BSC with a .407 batting average, three home runs and 15 RBIs while Carter Knoll and Cameron Allen have both driven in three runs for DePauw.
The Pitchers: Zach Shepherd has been Wilmington's most effecitve pitcher to date, throwing four scoreless inings. Clay Burton is looking to build upon a 2022 campaign that saw him throw a team-best 64.2 innings with 59 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.06 for Spalding. Joey White has hurled 13.2 innings for the Panthers and leads the team in ERA at 1.98 while a duo of Tigers - Pearse Riendeau and Michael Vallone - have throws over three innings for DePauw.
Top 25 Poll: Birmingham-Southern checks in at No. 4 in the most recent D3Baseball.com Top 25 Poll.
D3Baseball.com Region 7 Preview: D3Baseball.com called Wilmington "one of the most intriguing stories in NCAA Division III baseball" in its Region 7 preview.
Series History: Wilmington is 0-1 against DePauw and has not played the other two schools in the last decade. More information on the series history can be found by visiting the link above.
Social Media: Wilmington athletics is represented on Facebook (Wilmington College Athletics), Twitter (@DubCQuakers) and Instagram (@DubCQuakers). Follow all the happenings of Wilmington College on social media by using the hashtag "#WeAreDubC".
Coverage: Live statistics and live video of the matchups on Friday and Saturday will be available – visit the link above. Note, there will not be in-game coverage of the DePauw game.
Up Next: Wilmington will face Ohio Wesleyan University and Mount St. Joseph University in Florence, Kentucky, on Sunday.
