GAME NOTES: Statesmen Baseball at West Florida (2.19-20.11)
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CLEVELAND - The No. 14 ranked Statesmen (3-0, 0-0 GSCW) of Delta State University will make the long trip to Pensacola, Fla., this weekend for a three game series against the No. 13 Argonauts of the University of West Florida (7-1, 0-0 GSCE).

The series begins Saturday with a doubleheader scheduled for 2 p.m. at Jim Spooner Park. The series concludes Sunday with a single game at 1 p.m.

Delta State and West Florida, two perinnial powers in the Gulf South Conference, are meeting yet again in nonconference play with the series tied 17-17 all-time on the diamond. UWF has won 5 of 7 from the DSU, including 2 of 3 last season.

The Statesmen completed a three game sweep of Lambuth University last weekend at Ferriss Field by a combined score of 36-10, while the Argonauts took 2 of 3 from Flagler University.

Several breakout performances took place over the weekend for the Statesmen. Junior catcher Jon Carnahan hit a home run, a three-run shot in DSU's 11-4 game two win over Lambuth, in his first career at-bat for Delta State.

Kellen Bozeman also provided plenty of pop in his return to the lineup after missing last season due to an injury. The Baton Rouge, La., native connected on four doubles and drove in eight RBIs.

The series will be broadcast on the Argonauts Sports Network.  Links to live stats and the web cast will be available on GoStatesmen.com. 

STATESMAN TO WATCH: KELLEN BOZEMAN • 1B • Senior
Senior first baseman Kellen Bozeman is this week's “Statesman to Watch” after pounding out four doubles and driving in eight runs to help No. 14 Delta State claim a three-game sweep of Lambuth last weekend. 

The 2011 Tino Martinez Award nominee is coming off a redshirt season last year that saw the Baton Rouge, La., native miss the season.  In 2009, Bozeman batted .350 with 18 doubles, 11 home runs and 57 RBIs en route to All-GSC and All-Region status. 

STATESMEN SWEEP EAGLES TO OPEN SEASON
The Delta State University Statesmen opened the 2011 campaign with a three game sweep of the Lambuth University Eagles at Ferriss Field last weekend. The Statesmen outscored the Eagles 36-10 during the series en route to 10-5, 11-4 and 15-1 victories.

The Statesmen have not started off a season 3-0 since 2007 when DSU swept Angelo State 20-10, 5-1 and 6-0 in San Angelo, Texas.

TALENTED ARGOS AWAIT STATESMEN
With 17 returning lettermen, the No. 13 Argonauts of West Florida (7-1) are one of the favorites to compete for the Gulf South Conference title this season. In fact, the league coaches picked UWF to finish first in the East Division over defending GSC champion Valdosta State.

West Florida has had the Statesmen's number of late, winning five of the last seven in the series. Last season, UWF took 2 of 3 from DSU at Ferriss Field and in 2009 managed to win 3 of 4 including a 9-2 victory at the GSC Tournament.

The Statesmen and Argonauts have played 34 previous times with the series knotted at 17-17.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Statesmen will certainly know how Mad Max felt over the next couple of weeks, as DSU is scheduled to play its next games on the road. The away swing features three game series at No. 13 West Florida (7-0) and No. 19 Columbus State (3-3) with a two game midweek series at Alabama-Huntsville (5-0).

Delta State has been solid on the road over the last two season, racking up a combined 33-11-1 record. The Statesmen were 17-4-1 away from the friendly confines of Ferriss Field last season.

KINNISON NEARING FERRISS' WINS MARK; LUCKY 13
In 14 seasons as skipper at Delta State University, coach Mike Kinnison is 627-182-1. The Benton native needs just 13 victories to top Delta State's legendary Dave “Boo” Ferriss for the school's all-time wins record.

Ferriss, a legend with the Boston Red Sox and Delta State, amassed 639 wins in 26 seasons as head coach of the Statesmen. His record of 639-387-8 stands as one of the all-time great marks in Mississippi collegiate history.

ACU SERIES RESCHEDULED
Coach Mike Kinnison announced last week that the Abilene Christian series, originally scheduled for Feb. 8-9 in Abilene, Texas, has been rescheduled for March 28-29 at Crutcher Stadium on the Abilene Christian University campus.

STATESMEN RANK NO.1 ALL-TIME IN WINS IN GSC
Delta State University Baseball holds the distinction of owning the most conference titles (11) in Gulf South Conference history. DSU also holds the honor of being the all-time winningest program in league history with 1,704 victories.

Since 1933, the Statesmen are 1,704-848-11. The University of North Alabama and University of West Alabama are the only other schools with over 1,000 all-time wins.

POWERFUL DEBUT; CARNAHAN NAMED GSC POW
Junior catcher Jon Carnahan had quite an opening weekend, going 5 for 5 with three extra base hits and five RBIs for the Statesmen. The Port Neches, Texas native homered in first career at-bat for the Statesmen, a three run home run in DSU's 11-4 game two win over Lambuth. On Monday, he was named the GSC West Division Player of the Week.

The Marion Military transfer wrapped up his weekend with a 4 for 4 performance in game three that included a two-run home run, two-RBI double and four total RBIs.

BOZEMAN RETURNS WITH VIGOR
Kellen Bozeman showed no signs of rust in his first series back since missing all of last season with an injury. The Baton Rouge, La., native pounded out four doubles and drove in eight runs to help No. 14 Delta State claim a three-game sweep of Lambuth last weekend.

The 2011 Tino Martinez Award nominee is coming off a redshirt season last year that saw the Baton Rouge, La., native miss the season. In 2009, Bozeman batted .350 with 18 doubles, 11 home runs and 57 RBIs en route to All-GSC and All-Region status.

STATESMEN ON SOLID HOME RUN PACE
After hitting just 35 home runs in 51 games last season, the Statesmen have already connected on four in just three games this year. Jon Carnahan drilled two over the weekend against Lambuth to lead DSU, while Cameron Robulak and Patrick Taylor each delivered one apiece.

FRESH FACES
Freshmen Marc McMillian and Brent Langston came up big in their first collegiate at-bats, both delivering doubles to left. McMillian is a 5-foot-11 infielder from Mendenhall (Simpson Academy) and Langston is a 6-foot-2 first baseman from Southaven (Desoto Central).

NIEMANN CHASING STEALS RECORD
Senior centerfielder Michael Niemann swiped 2 of 2 stolen base attempts last weekend against Lambuth to push his career total to 59.

The Yelm, Wash., native is tied with Kelly Dickinson for third all-time at DSU. He needs just 13 steals to become the school's all-time leader.

CAREER STOLEN BASE LEADERBOARD
1 Heath Bailey, 1994-1996/ 71
2 Frank Smith, 1998-2001/ 62
3 Michael Niemann, 2008-Present/ 59
3 Kelly Dickinson, 1989-1990/ 59

TAYLOR ERUPTS IN LAMBUTH SERIES
Senior catcher Patrick Taylor opened up the 2011 season with a fury last weekend, going 3 of 7 at the plate with a two-run home run and four RBIs. The Arab, Ala., native is batting .429 with two runs scored.

NEWCOMB AND MOORE WIN SEASON DEBUTS
Junior transfer Aaron Newcomb and sophomore Jordan Moore made the most of their season debuts, recording victories for the Statesmen pitching staff in their first starts of the year.

Newcomb, a 6-foot-3 righthanded pitcher from Centralia, Ill., started the first game of the season for DSU. The former Olney Central College star pitched 5.0 innings allowing three earned runs on seven hits with six strikeouts.

Moore, a 6-foot-3 righty from Calhoun City, worked just 3.0 innings allowing one run on two hits in DSU's 15-1 series finale victory over Lambuth. He also recorded three strikeouts in the win. Last season, Moore posted a 3-0 record and a 2.35 ERA in eight appearances and six starts.

HARDIN K'S EIGHT IN FIRST START
Former Kaskaskia (Ill.) College star Brandon Hardin wasted little time showing fans and opposing batters what he's capable of on the mound, fanning eight in 4.1 innings of work Saturday in DSU's 11-4 win over Lambuth. He finished the game allowing three runs, one earned, on five hits with just one walk.

HALLMARK RECORDS FIRST SAVE OF SEASON
Despite an 11-4 final, junior reliever Brent Hallmark recorded his first save of the season in Saturday's second game against Lambuth.

With the Statesmen nursing a 6-3 lead over the Eagles and LU looking for a comeback, the New Hope native worked the final 2.0 innings of the game, allowing one run on three hits with four strikeouts.

Hallmark led the Statesmen with four saves last season while going 1-1 with a 1.33 ERA.

BULLPEN DELIVERS IN OPENING WEEKEND
After being a point of contention at times last season, the Statesmen bullpen paid huge dividends this past weekend versus Lambuth.

In the three games, Statesmen relievers pitched 11 innings allowing just three runs with two earned. The tandem of Garrett Pickens (4), David Mooney (4), Nathan Hardy (1), Andrew Lytle (1), Tim Maloney (0), Brent Hallmark (4) and Jeffrey Vance (2) all combined to strikeout 16 Eagle batters.

FIGURING IT OUT
With so many new faces in the program, coach Mike Kinnison played 29 Statesmen this past weekend against the Eagles. It's the most in an opening weekend since 2007.

Jon Carnahan (C), Brent Langston (1B), Anthony Even (2B/3B), Andrew Lytle (P), Mark McMillian (INF), Craig Hermann (SS), Brent Kakwitch (3B), Justin Badon (SS), Garrett Pickens (P), Cameron Robulak (DH), Aaron Newcomb (P), Landon Cloud (OF), Jordan Chovanec (OF), Brandon Hardin (P) and Ernie Triplett (OF) all made their debuts for the Statesmen.

For complete game notes, stats and rankings, please click on the link above.