STATESMEN GAME NOTES
CLEVELAND, Miss. -- No. 1
Delta State University (4-1) baseball will travel to play No.13/25 the
University of Southern Indiana (0-0) and No. 16/9
Quincy University (0-0) on Saturday and Sunday at QU Baseball Stadium in Quincy, Ill. The Statesmen will play a doubleheader against Southern Indiana on Saturday at 12 p.m. followed a doubleheader against Quincy on Sunday at 12 p.m.
Last Time Out: Delta State went 2-0 last week with a 3-2 win at Ouachita Baptist before taking a 9-4 win in extra innings over Nebrask-Kearney. The Statesmen used a 12th inning power surge to upend Nebraska-Kearney 9-4 on Sat., Feb. 10 in Arkadelphia, Ark. Sophomore Darek Sargent belted a solo home run to start the inning and senior Zack Shannon hit a three-run home run with Jamell Newson and Brian Lane aboard. Newson also got a run in when he reached on a fielder's choice sacrifice in the inning.
76th Season: Delta State begins its 76th season of baseball with a 1,974-953-11 all-time record. The Statesmen are ranked seventh in NCAA Division II in wins with a 306-123-2 record since 2000.
Kinnison Earns 900th Win: Statesmen skipper Mike Kinnison earned his 900th career in the Statesmen's 3-2 victory over Ouachita Baptist (2.9.18). In his 22 seasons at the helm, Kinnison has amassed a 901-289-2 record while guiding the Statesmen to the 2004 NCAA Division II National title, six College World Series appearances (2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2012 and 2017), 13 NCAA South/South Central Regional appearances (1999-2005, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017), 11 GSC Western Division titles (1997-2005, 2007-2008), six NCAA South/South Central Regional championships and seven GSC titles.
By The Numbers: The Green-and-White rank first or second in seven offensive categories after week one. Delta State leads the GSC in home runs (8) and slugging percentage (.446) and are second in runs scored (43), hits (61), RBIs (41) and batting average (.303). Zack Shannon is second in the league in home runs (2) while Darek Sargent, Brian Lane, Jamell Newson, Clay Casey, Emil Ellis and Justin Nussbaum are third with one.
Herrington's Debut: David Herrington went 2-for-4 in his first start at third base for the Statesmen against Nebraska-Kearney (2.10) . The Northwest Mississippi Community College transfer singled to right center in the his first at bat in the second inning and collected an infield single in the seventh.
Against the GLVC: The Green-and-White enter the weekend with a 19-6-1 all-time record against schools from the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Statesmen are 8-3-1 against Quincy and will meet Southern Indiana for the first time in Friday's doubleheader.
Records vs. other GLVC schools: Bellarmine 0-1; Drury 2-1; Illinois Springfield 1-0; Indianapolis 3-0; McKendree 2-0; Missouri St. Louis 1-1; Rockhurst 2-0;
Newson Goes Deep: Jamell Newson's first career home run was a timely one in DSU's extra inning win over Nebraska-Kearney. Trailing 4-3, Newson hit a solo home run with one out in the sixth inning to tie the game, 4-4. Newson also had a RBI on an fielder's choice sac bunt during the Statesmen's five-run 12th inning and was on base when Zack Shannon launched his three-run blast.
Miscellaneous Numbers:
- Delta State has scored 43 runs in five games with 16 runs coming with two outs.4The Statesmen have outscored opponents 16-6 in innings 4-6 and 31-16 in innings 4-9.
- The Statesmen are 4-0 when leading after eight innings and 2-0 when hitting two-plus home runs in a game.
- The Statesmen are batting .467 (7-for-15) with the bases load.
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TRAVELING SHOES Delta State plays the 11 games on the road to start the 2018 season. The Statesmen will travel 3,887.0 miles over the first 11 games and will ledger 8,141 round trip miles on the road in 2018. The Green-and-White will log 2,120.2 miles on the Florida swing on Feb. 2-4 at Lynn University in Ft. Boca Raton, Fla., Nova Southeastern in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. and Palm Beach Atlantic in Jupiter, Fla. Delta State adds 410 miles for a trip to Arkadelphia, Ark., for three games against Ouachita Baptist, Henderson State and Nebraska-Kearney on Feb. 9-10. Add 1,036.8 miles for the trip to Quincy University for four games against Southern Indiana and Quincy.
LEADING IT OFF Senior Jason Popovich recorded double-digit hits in all three games from the leadoff spot this weekend and has notched 31 career double digit hit games. Popovich went 2-for-4 against Lynn University on Friday and was 3-for-7 with a double and two runs scored against No. 12 Nova Southeastern. Popovich closed the weekend with a 3-for-5 outing with three runs scored and a walk. Popovich leads the GSC in hits (8) and at bats (16) and ranks second in runs scored (5) and sixth in batting average (.500).
DAVEY SOLID ON THE BUMP Junior Hayden Davey is 1-1 through two starts with a 1.64 ERA. Davey has struck out 12 against five walks in 11 innings pitched this season. Davey scattered five hits with seven strikeouts, two walks, over six shutout innings against Ouachita Baptost (2.9).
ANCHORING THE BULLPEN Senior Peyton White has registered two saves out of the Statesmen bullpen in five games. White recorded saves against Palm Beach Atlantic (2.4) and preserved a 3-2 win over Ouachita Baptist (2.9)
FOR STARTERS The Statesmen return all nine players in the batting order that includes all eight position starters and four returning All-GSC and All-South Region selections. All-Americans Zack Shannon (Sr.,1B/P), and Clay Casey (Sr./OF) headline the list along with Emil Ellis (Sr., 2B), and Brian Lane (Sr., C/DH). Also returning to the lineup is lead off hitter Jason Popovich (Sr., CF), Nick Morgan (Sr., 3B), Juwan Burney (Jr., OF), and Josh Russell (Jr., C).
PRESEASON PERFECT GAME Delta State is ranked second in the Perfect Game Preseason National Poll behind No. 1 West Chester. Tampa is ranked third followed by Minnesota State and Colorado Mesa. Additionally, PG named senior Zack Shannon one of NCAA Division II's top pro prospects.
CBN Preseason Rankings The top ranked Green-and-White will face 11 teams either ranked or received votes in the Collegiate Baseball Preseason Poll. Nova Southeastern (#12), Southern Indiana (#13), Quincy University (#16) and Southern Arkansas (#35) are currently ranked while Arkansas-Monticello, Henderson State, West Alabama, North Alabama, Valdosta State, Lee University and Lynn University received votes.
NCBWA PRESEASON POLL Delta State is ranked No. 1 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason South Region and National Preseason Polls. Zack Shannon (1B/P), Clay Casey (OF), Seth Birdsong (RHP) and Brian Lane (DH/C) were listed in the first team while Emil Ellis (2B) was selected to the second team.
RECORDS WATCH Senior Zack Shannon has two home runs and seven RBIs through five games in 2018. The Cincinnati, Ohio native is four home runs away from tying Mark Hayes (1987-89) and Casey Myrick (1995-98) for ninth on the Statesmen career home runs chart.
COACH K, BASEBALL STYLE In his 21 seasons at the helm of the Statesmen, Mike Kinnison has posted 13 40-plus win seasons, including five 50 win campaigns, and has averaged 42.6 wins per season. Kinnison has guided the Statesmen to one national, seven GSC and five south/south central region titles during his tenure.
Remembering Two Legends The white decals on the Statesmen batting helmets are in honor of Statesmen coaching legends, Dave "Boo" Ferriss (33) and Bill Marchant (22). Ferriss (94 / 1921-2016) passed away on Nov. 24, 2016 and Marchant (69 / 1947-2016) passed away on June 8, 2016. Ferriss spent 46 years in college and pro baseball and won 639 games as the Statesmen's head coach. The Statesmen went to the NCAA Division II World Series three times and won four GSC championships under Ferriss.
Marchant (1947-2016) gave Delta State 27 years of dedicated service to the University, Statesmen Baseball and Athletics. Marchant replaced the retired Ferriss in 1989. Marchant's record was 283-127-1 (.820), while leading DSU to a pair of GSC titles and two Division II College World Series appearances.
WHAT OUR HATS REPRESENT Delta State wears a solid green hat and a white and green hat with the Old English D which started being worn during the Coach Bill Marchant era that spanned eight seasons. The black hat/green bill with a blocked D was worn during the Coach Ferriss era that spanned during two stints over 26 years.
STATE CONNECTIONS] Delta State boasts two players from the state of Illinois on the 2018 roster. Pichter Andy Borries is from Teutopolis, Ill., and outfielder Luke Ketchum hails from Springfield, Ill.
