Bayou Bash, Senior Day Highlight Baseball Series Against UNCG

SCHEDULE UPDATE (4/18) - Saturday doubleheader to start at 2 p.m.

DAVIDSON, N.C. - It will be an exciting weekend at Wilson Field when Davidson hosts UNCG for a three-game Southern Conference baseball series, starting with a doubleheader Saturday (2 p.m.) and Senior Day ceremonies prior to Sunday's finale (1 p.m.).

CATCHING THE ACTION
Admission to Wilson Field is free. Live video and live stats will be available. Twitter updates will be made on @DavidsonWildcat.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Sat. - RHP Ryan Lowe (3-5, 4.17) (D) vs. TBA (G)
Sat. - RHP Danny Mooney (3-4, 5.08) (D) vs. TBA (G)
Sun. - TBA (D) vs. TBA (G)

LEADING OFF
- Davidson's Baseball Bayou Bash game Friday against UNCG at Wilson Field has been postponed to a Saturday doubleheader due to forecasted severe weather, but all are welcome to a free crawfish lunch starting at 11:30 a.m. Friday outside the Alvarez College Union on the campus of Davidson College. The Wildcats were planning on breaking the Wilson Field attendance record Friday with the “Bayou Bash” event. However, the crawfish, corn, and potatoes will now be served in a special lunch event in the Mariam Cannon Hayes Amphitheater (surrounding the western entrance to the Alvarez College Union) Friday, while 200 pounds of Canecuh County sausage will be served for free during Saturday's doubleheader at Wilson Field. Also Saturday, one fan will win a free iPad and one will win free Coca-Cola for a year courtesy of Coca-Cola. UNCG and Davidson will then conclude the three-game Southern Conference series Sunday at 1 p.m.

- Sunday will be Senior Day, which will honor Class of 2013 members Andrew Barna, Bryan DaCanal, Jack McLindon and Michael Zeblo.

- Nathan Becker leads Davidson with a .294 batting average and is closely followed by Ryan Lowe who is batting .289, with four home runs and 14 RBI. In his last eight games, he is batting .366 and has accumulated half of his season HR and RBI totals. Andrew Barna has hit a career-high eight home runs this season and has 23 RBI to lead the team in both categories.

- The Wildcats have two wins in their last eight games and are 10-11 as the home team this season. This is the final weekend series at Wilson Field as Davidson's next three will all be on the road. The home finale will be be Tuesday, May 7 at 6 p.m. vs. Duke,

THE SERIES
VS. UNCG: Davidson trails in the all-time series, 25-35. UNCG claimed a doubleheader last season in Greensboro after the Wildcats earned a 7-5 victory in the first game of the three-game set. Davidson won 2-of-3 the last time the Spartans visited Wilson Field in 2011.

SCOUTING UNCG
The Spartans are 17-20 after winning just one of their last seven games. UNCG earned an 8-5 win over No. 16 NC State (3/19) for one its three wins in 10 road games. Like Davidson, UNCG owns just one SoCon series win. The Spartans were swept by Elon and could only take 1-of-3 from Wofford, College of Charleston and Appalachian State, but took 2-of-3 from Georgia Southern. Christian Wolfe leads the team and SoCon with a .425 average and also has three home runs and 25 RBI. Trevor Edwrds is also among SoCon leaders with nine home runs and 33 RBI, which are team bests. Cambric Moye has also been solid at the plate, batting .321 with five home runs and 27 RBI.

NOTES
POWER SURGE: Davidson has already surpassed last year's home run total of 15 with 24 home runs this season. Andrew Barna has already surpassed his career high with eight this season. He is among the SoCon leaders in the category and the Top 50 in the nation. Davidson has ranked consistently in the Top 50 for home runs as a team this season.

BACK-TO-BACK: Michael Zeblo and Ryan Lowe hit back-to-back home runs in the third inning against Winthrop (4/16), marking the first time the Wildcats had hit back-to-back homers since Danny Weiss '11 and Drew Gadaire '12 did so on March 28, 2009 versus Appalachian State.

BROTHERLY BATTLE: - David Daniels faced his older brother, Leighton, 4/16 when Leighton's Winthrop Eagles visited Wilson Field. Leighton is a junior and both brothers were teammates at East Mecklenburg H.S. Leighton did not play when the two teams first met earlier this season at Winthrop (3/26) due to an injury. Both both led-off for their respective teams, but Leighton's Eagles won, 5-3, and he went 3-for-5 with an RBI. David was 0-for-4.

BOSTON MARATHON: J.P. Craven '11, a former Davidson catcher is in the thoughts of the Davidson baseball family, as he is recovering from injuries sustained in the attack at the Boston Marathon.

ONLY STAT THAT COUNTS: Davidson defeated College of Charleston, 5-4, in extra innings (4/13), despite having more errors than runs by matching a season high with six miscues. The Wildcats did not allow any unearned runs to score and tied the game in the ninth inning before winning it in the 10th.

CLUTCH UP THE MIDDLE: Freshman 2B Sam Foy was the hero in the first two Davidson walk-off victories this season. He singled in the bottom of the ninth against Appalachian State (3/2) for a 4-3 win in the bottom of the ninth and doubled in the bottom of the 10th at Fluor Field for a 7-6 win over Furman (3/17). Senior SS Michael Zeblo was the hero in Davidson's 10th-inning win over College of Charleston (4/13) with a single through the right side.

BONUS BASEBALL: Davidson has now had three games go to extras. Davidson played its first extra inning game of the season Mar. 8, ultimately losing to Western Carolina, 9-4 in 13 innings. The 'Cats were 2-4 in extra innings in 2012, and had not played a game as long as 13 innings since 2003, a 7-6 win over UNCG (5/17). Davidson is 2-1 this season after a 10th inning victory over Furman at Fluor Field, 3/17, and another 10-inning win over College of Charleston, 4/13.

BEND BUT DON'T BREAK: Davidson was the underdog entering it's 4/5 game vs. UNCW, as the Wildcats had lost their last 10 and the Seahawks were receiving Top 25 votes, but Davidson prevailed, 2-1. UNCW went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, stranding 12 on the bases, as the 'Cats came up with key pitches and great defensive plays, escaping three bases-loaded jams.

LOSING STREAKS END: Davidson has lost its last seven meetings against UNCW and had lost all seven home contests with the Seahawks, but ended both droughts with a 2-1 victory (4/5). Dating back to 2009, Davidson had lost the last 11 games against Appalachian State, but finally prevailed on Mar. 2. With runners on second and third and one out in the bottom of the ninth, Sam Foy singled to shallow center to drive in Nathan Becker for the tying run, but the ball slipped past centerfielder Jaylin Davis, allowing pinch-runner Aaron Ruzinsky to score the winning run from second base.

HOME GAME IN GREENVILLE: Davidson played the series finale against Furman in Greenville, S.C., Sunday, Mar. 17 at Fluor Field, the home of the Greenville Drive, a Single-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, and the site of the SoCon Baseball Championship. The Wildcats won the game in the 10th inning on a walk-off double by freshman Sam Foy.

HISTORIC WIN: Davidson set new team records for runs and margin of victory in a Southern Conference baseball game, defeating Furman, 22-2, 3/16 at Wilson Field. Eleven Wildcats, including all nine starters, combined for 19 hits in the game, and just four Wildcats were stranded, thanks in part to three home runs. Andrew Barna led Davidson with four RBI, driving in two each with a single and a home run in a 2-for-6 day at the plate. On the mound, RHP Danny Mooney held Furman to two runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out five in 7.0 innings of work. Game Facts: All 22 runs came in a span of four innings, as Davidson scored five in the third inning, six in the fourth inning, seven in the fifth inning and four in the sixth inning ... The previous record for runs in a SoCon game for Davidson was 20, set in a 20-19 victory over The Citadel on May 2, 1961, while the record for margin of victory was 18, set in a 19-1 victory over East Tennessee State on May 12, 2005 ... Davidson sent the minimum six batters to the plate in the first two innings before Michael Zeblo's home run to lead off the third inning opened the scoring ... Zeblo led off the 3rd, 4th and 5th innings, while Ryan Lowe was the final out in the 3rd and 4th innings before hitting a 3-run home run in the 5th ... In the third inning, freshman Lee Miller, who was batting cleanup, dropped a bunt with the bases empty and two-outs to reach base, advanced to third when Andrew Barna reached on an error, and then scored by stealing stole home while the pitcher was holding the ball ... Furman used six pitchers and stranded 11 runners ... Just 14 of the 22 runs allowed were earned, as all seven in the fifth were unearned ... In non-conference action, Davidson has had similar offensive outputs in recent years, defeating North Carolina A&T, 22-15 on March 22, 2011, and defeating Mount Saint Mary's by 22 runs on Feb. 28, 2010, 29-7. Davidson earned a 25-6 victory over UNCG on April 17, 1992, but both schools were members of the Big South at the time ... The Wildcats first joined the SoCon in baseball in 1947 and were members through 1988, but rejoined the league in 1993 after going independent in 1989 and 1990 and competing in the Big South in 1991 and 1992.

SUPPORT FOR COACH COOKE: At Davidson's season opener at Wilson Field, many Davidson fans donned fake mustaches in honor of head coach Dick Cooke, who was seriously injured in a car accident in September. He sufferred head trauma, bleeding on the brain, a broken right cheek bone, broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and a broken right tibia, fibula and ankle. Cooke is continuing to rehab the leg injuries. Known for his trademark mustache, he is guiding the Wildcats for a 23rd season.

UMPIRES BEWARE: Head coach Dick Cooke was appointed chair of the NCAA Baseball Rules committee over the summer. Cooke's term on the rules committee began in July and he will serve through Sept. 2015. The chair appointment is year-to-year. As chair, Cooke is responsible for leading the committee's deliberations at the annual meeting and serving as the committee's spokesperson. The committee is charged with protecting the integrity of the game and making sure student-athlete safety is paramount.

NEW ASSISTANTS: Dick Cooke is in his 23rd year at the helm of the Wildcats, but his assistants are all new this season. Rucker Taylor came to Davidson from SoCon rival Samford, where he spent the last six seasons on the coaching staff serving as the outfield coach and assisting with hitting and the infielders. Taylor is a 2006 graduate of Vanderbilt University, where he saw significant starting time and played on two NCAA Regional teams. Wayne Miller most recently served as an assistant coach at Emory & Henry College. A 2010 cum laude graduate of Samford University, Miller was a four-year starter. Andy Carter, a 2005 Davidson graduate and former player in the New York Yankees' organization, serves as the volunteer assistant for the after most recently serving as the head coach of the North Mecklenburg H.S. varsity squad. Carter was a 35th round selection of the New York Yankees. He played two seasons of indenpendent ball and later worked for both the Yankees and Orioles in baseball operations. Carter was twice named the Wildcats' most valuable pitcher and still ranks second in career strikeouts (258) and innings pitched (322.1).

1-2 vs. NO. 1: Head coach Dick Cooke is now 1-2 all-time against the top-ranked team in the nation. Davidson lost to No. 1 North Carolina (3/5/13) and to No. 1 South Carolina in 2000. The Cooke-led Wildcats defeated No. 1 Georgia Tech in 1994. Current Duke head coach Chris Pollard pitched 8.1 innings for the 'Cats in the win over future Major Leaguers Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Varitek and Jay Payton.

LEOPARDS SWEPT: The Wildcats won the first game of a two-game tilt with Lafayette (2/23) 13-6, scoring double-digit runs for the first time in 35 games, dating back to last season. Chris Dyer drove in four runs and Andrew Barna went 4-for-5 to lead Davidson. Forrest Brandt and Michael Zeblo both went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. RHP Ryan Lowe and the Wildcats' bullpen held Lafayette (0-2) to six hits, while the 'Cats posted 16. Home runs from Lee Miller and Barna, as well as strong pitching, led the Wildcats to their second straight victory over Lafayette, 9-3, the following day.

WINNING STREAK ENDS: Lee Miller's second home run in as many games was Davidson's lone score, as NC Central defeated the 'Cats, 3-1, on Feb. 20. The victory was the first for NC Central in nine meetings with Davidson. LHP Jordan Quinn (1-0) held the Wildcats to a run on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

LET IT SNOW: Snow made Wilson Field unplayable Feb. 16 with Davidson leading George Washington, 6-5, in the top of the 7th inning, and by rule, it was determined to be an official game, giving the Wildcats the series sweep. Lee Miller paced Davidson by going 2-for-3 with his first career home run and three total RBI. A time-lapse video of the snow's arrival was shown on The Weather Channel and has nearly 10,000 views on YouTube. It's the second-most watched video on Davidson's YouTube Channel.

GRAND OPENING: Forrest Brandt hit a grand slam in the seventh inning and a two-RBI double in the eighth to give Davidson the cushion it needed to defeat George Washington, 7-5, in the season opener. It was the first of his career and the first by a Wildcat since Michael Zeblo hit one as a freshman in 2010.

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