GAME NOTES: Delta State University at Gulf South Conference Tournament (5.2-5.15)
Complete weekly release with notes, rankings, stats and more in PDF

CLEVELAND, Miss. - The Delta State University Statesmen (22-16, 15-10 GSC) will be making their 31st appearance at the Gulf South Conference Baseball Tournament May 2-5 at Tartt Field in Livingston, Alabama. DSU is entering the tournament as the No. 6 seed and will open tournament play against the top-seed and host University of West Alabama (35-9, 25-6 GSC) on Saturday, May 2 at 3:30 p.m. The Statesmen have posted back-to-back runner-up finishes, falling to Alabama-Huntsville in the 2014 championship game and to Valdosta State in the 2013 championship tilt.

The Statesmen have won a record 12 GSC championships (2012, 2008, 2004, 2003, 2000, 1996, 1994, 1991, 1988, 1985, 1979, 1978) and seek their first since 2012. The Green and White are 85-55 in GSC Tournament games dating back to the first edition in 1972. Since Mike Kinnison took over as head coach of the Statesmen in 1997, Delta State has won five league crowns and made 19-straight tournament appearances.
 

First Round Opponent: The Statesmen open the first round of the GSC Tournament against the host and top-seed No. 8 West Alabama. First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Tartt Field in Livingston, Ala. DSU lost 2-of-3 at UWA earlier this year, but lead the all-time series 83-39. West Alabama swept Alabama-Huntsville this past weekend to improve to 35-9 overall and 25-6 in GSC play.    

Statesmen In The GSC Tournament: The Statesmen have won a record 12 GSC tournaments (2012, 2008, 2004, 2003, 2000, 1996, 1994, 1991, 1988, 1985, 1979, 1978) titles and seek their first since 2012. The Green and White are 85-55 in GSC Tournament games dating back to the first edition in 1972.  

GSC Tournament Records: Delta State is making its 31st trip to the Gulf South Conference Tournament this week at the University of West Alabama. The Statesmen own virtually every team postseason record in the league, including: tournament appearances (31), victories (85), semifinals appearances (26), finals appearances (15) and championships (12).

Back To Campus: The Gulf South Conference Baseball Tournament returns to campus sites for the first time since 2001 when the tournament was hosted by East Division champion Valdosta State in Valdosta, Georgia. The tournament moved to neutral sites in 2002, starting with Milllington, Tennessee (2002-2011), Rome, Georgia (2012), Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 2013 and Birmingham, Alabama, (UAB) in 2014.  This is the third time the University of West Alabama has hosted the tournament (1979, 1994) while  Delta State has been the tournament host six times (1978, 1981, 1988, 1996, 2000, and 2010).

Last Time Out: Delta State dropped a doubleheader to the University of West Florida, falling 2-0 and 6-5 to close the regular season. The Statesmen had won six straight GSC series dating back to a doubleheader loss to Valdosta State (3.1).  Landon Thibodeaux collected two hits for the Statesmen in game one. Brandon Cummins led the Statesmen with three hits while Jacob Swiney, Colton Welch, and Marc McMillian had two hits each in game two. McMillian's solo home run in the second was his fourth of the season and gave DSU a 2-0 lead.

Statesmen Streaks: Landon Thibodeaux enters the GSC Tournament with a 10-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in 20 straight games. Brandon Cummins has a five-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in 10 straight games while Ethan Gill has hit safely in four straight games entering the GSC Tournament.
 

---

STATESMEN VERSUS THE GSC TOURNAMENT FIELD
Delta State enters the GSC Tournament with a 179-109-1 all-time record versus the field, including a combined 5-8 mark this season. The Statesmen are 29-25 against the field in tournament play.

Opponent    Overall     GSC Tourn.    2015    
West Alabama    83-39    7-5    1-2    
Alabama-Huntsville    33-20-1    7-7    2-1    
West Georgia    17-5    4-3    2-1    
West Florida    29-26    4-5    0-2    
Valdosta State    17-19    7-5    0-2    

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Delta State is 9-8 in its last 17 and 11-14 overall on the road this season.  The Green and White is hitting .307 with 55 doubles, six triples, 24 home runs and have stolen 21 bases.  The Statesmen have six players batting over .300 away from Ferriss Field.

GULF SOUTH SERIES
The Statesmen are 14-8 in their last 22 GSC games and have won six-of-nine GSC series. DSU captured series against Shorter University (3-0), Mississippi College (2-1), Lee University (2-1), Union (3-0), Alabama-Huntsville (2-1) and West Georgia (2-1) prior to getting swept in doubleheader at West Florida (0-2).   

TWO RUNS OR LESS 
Delta State has been involved in 17 games decided by two-runs or less this season.  The Statesmen are 5-9 in one-run games and 2-1 in two-run games.  West Florida's 2-0 win in game one on Sunday (4.26) was the first two-run loss for the Statesmen, while game two's 6-5 loss on Sunday, made DSU 2-7 on the road in one-run contests.

POWER SURGE
After hitting 16 home runs in 2014, Delta State has belted 39 home runs in 38 games, 24 of which have come on the road. Ethan Gill's nine home runs lead the team and are tied for the most home runs since Cameron Robulack belted nine round-trippers in 2011 and is also one shy of Josh Gordon's 10 in 2010.  The 39 home runs surpasses the 35 bombs hit by the Statesmen in 2010 for the most this decade.

LEADOFF MAN
Brandon Cummins is hitting .368 with eight doubles, four triples, three home runs and 25 RBIs from the leadoff spot. The junior is 29-for-60 with a .483 average when leading off an inning. Cummins is second on the team with a .378 batting average, 11 doubles, and 31 RBIs.

LIGHT SCHEDULE
Delta State has played 38 regular season games this season due to rain outs and cancellations.  The last time the Statesmen played less than 40 games in a season dates to 1983 when the DSU went 17-19-1 and 3-6 in the GSC West under Coach Dave "Boo" Ferriss.

THREE STATESMEN GARNER ALL-GSC LAURELS
Delta State placed three players on the All-Gulf South Conference Baseball teams, announced on Wednesday, April 29. Junior Jacob Swiney (OF) earned All-GSC First-Team honors while seniors Landon Thibodeaux (OF) and Jonathan Moody (P) were selected  to the All-GSC Second-Team.

Swiney leads the Statesmen and ranks third in the GSC with a .408 batting average and has 11 doubles, three home runs and 31 RBIs. Thibodeaux is hitting .314 with 11 doubles, one triple, two home runs and 22 RBIs. Moody is 4-2 with a 4.20 ERA in 10 starts, recording 56 strikeouts, 17 walks, in 64.1 innings pitched. Moody and Thibodeaux earned All-GSC First-Team honors in 2014

RAGIN CAJUN
Senior Landon Thibodeaux has been on a steady rise since entering the Arkansas-Monticello (3.31) game, hitting .233. Over the last 17 games, the Central, Louisiana, native is hitting .406 (26-64) with 19 runs scored, three doubles, two home runs and 12 RBIs. Thibodeaux also has a .547 slugging percentage and a .474 on base percentage.   For the season, Thibodeaux is hitting .314 with 11 doubles, one triple, two home runs and 22 RBIs.

DEUCES WILD
Delta State has gotten solid production out of the two spot in the batting order. The Statesmen are hitting a combined .407 (62-for-152) with 38 runs scored, 14 doubles, one triple, three home runs and 37 RBIs. Jacob Swiney is hitting .463 (38-for-82) with 21 runs scored, 10 doubles, three home runs and 27 RBIs in 22 games. Brandon Cummins hit .435 (10-for-23) with three doubles, a triple, 10 runs scored, two walks, and five RBIs in six games. Trent Giambrone posted a .357 average (10-for-28) with a double, four runs scored, and three RBIs.  

MILLIGAN DSU's K FACTOR
Drew Milligan has a team-high 66 strikeouts, and is averaging 1.01 strikeouts per inning pitched and has a 3.14 strikeout to walk ratio. Milligan is 3-2 with a 4.13 ERA and has allowed 31 runs. The West Florida (4.26) game marked for the first time in 11 starts that Milligan did not record a strikeout. Milligan had fanned at least three batters in his previous 10 starts, including tying a career-high with 10 punch-outs against Union University (3.15).

RISP PRODUCTION
The Statesmen enter the GSC Tournament averaging 7.6 runs per game, while hitting .327 with runners in scoring position. DSU's Jacob Swiney leads the club with a .427 RISP average, going 19-of-40 in scoring situations at the plate.

TWO-PLUS LONG BALLS
Delta State is 9-1 this season when hitting two or more home runs in a game. The Statesmen are 8-6 when hitting one home run and 5-9 with zero home runs.

AFTER SIX, SET THE CRUISE
The Statesmen enter the GSC Tournament with an 18-1 record when leading after six innings, 10-0 after seven and 11-1 after nine. Despite some early season bullpen woes, the Statesmen staff has made great strides throughout the season. Closer Nick Goza leads the Statesmen with six saves in 16 appearances, while Witt Haggard (1-2, 2.22 ERA) and Trevor Blocker (2-0, 1.59 ERA) have become valuable setup men.       

STATESEMEN GSC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Ethan Gill (4.7.15) -- .555 (10-18), 9 R, 4 HR,
Jacob Swiney (3.24.15) -- .615 (8-13), 4 R, 5 RBI, 1 2B, 1 HR,
Brandon Cummins (3.17.15) -- .563 (9-16), 8 R, 6 RBI, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR

STATESMEN GSC PITCHERS OF THE WEEK HONORS
Jonathan Moody (4.19.15) -- 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R,  0 BB, 11 Ks (Career-High)
Jonathan Moody (3.24.15) -- 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 Ks

VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS
Delta State is 3-3 against opponents are or have been ranked in the national polls.   The list includes Nova Southeastern (0-3), West Alabama (1-2), and Alabama-Huntsville (2-1).

ROAD WARRIORS
The Statesmen traveled more than 3,000 miles in the first three weeks of the season, playing the first nine games on the road. In all, DSU has traveled more than 6,000 miles this season.

WORLD CHAMPION STATESMEN
Eli Whiteside, a former All-American catcher at DSU, became the first player in Delta State University history to win two MLB World Series Championships with the San Francisco Giants (2010 | 2012).  

Barry Lyons, a back-up catcher for New York, became the first Statesmen to win a World Series title with the New York Mets in 1986.  

After signing a free agent contract with Atlanta, Whiteside retired from playing in the offseason to return and coach for San Francisco.  Whiteside played the 2014 season with the Chicago Cubs before signing the Braves.

STATESMEN RANK NO.1 ALL-TIME IN WINS IN GSC
Delta State University baseball holds the distinction of owning the most conference titles (12) in Gulf South Conference history.  DSU also holds the honor of being the all-time winningest program in league history with 1,858 victories.  Since 1933, the Statesmen are 1,880-920-11.  In GSC games, DSU is 546-199-1.

PROFESSIONAL STATESMEN
The Statesmen boast more professional players, 73 drafted and free agents, than any other program in the Gulf South Conference.  Currently, eight Statesmen are on active major or minor league rosters.  DSU's Taylor Stark (P) and Carlos Leal (C) joined the ranks last year after being drafted in the 30th and 36th rounds respectively.