No. 2 Seed Davidson Opens Against No. 10 The Citadel

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Catching the Action

The SoCon Tournament will take place at Joseph P. Riley Park in Charleston, S.C. Live video and live stats will be available for free at the links above. Information about the ballpark and tickets is available at the Championship Central link above. Twitter updates will be available from @DavidsonWildcat.

LEADING OFF

	No. 2 Davidson (28-17, 17-8 SoCon)	No. 10 The Citadel (24-32, 8-18 SoCon)
Wednesday (5 p.m.)	RHP Danny Mooney (5-3, 2.63)	RHP Austin Mason (1-4, 4.75)

- No. 10 seed The Citadel won its play-in game against No. 7 Elon, advancing to face Davidson.

- Picked to finish last in the Southern Conference by the league's coaches and ninth out of 10 teams by the media, Davidson was in the hunt for the regular season championship until its final series at Western Carolina. The Wildcats ultimately finished second (best finish since finishing second in the South Division in 1987) with a program record 17 SoCon wins. Overall, Davidson has matched a program record with 28 wins.

- No Wildcats were tabbed for either the media's or coaches' preseason All-SoCon teams, but a record six different 'Cats were named to the All-SoCon teams, plus Dick Cooke was the consensus Coach of the Year and Forrest Brandt was named the co-player of the year by coaches.

- Davidson earned two consensus first-team all-conference selections, outfielder Forrest Brandt and designated hitter Ryan Lowe, while outfielder Lee Miller was tabbed for the first team by the league's coaches and the second team by the league's media. Third baseman David Daniels was also voted to the first team by the league's media. Starting pitcher Danny Mooney was named to the second team by both the coaches and media, while outfielder Nathan Becker earned second team recognition from the league's coaches.

- Dating back to last season, the Wildcats claimed a program-record 10 consecutive SoCon series (at The Citadel, 5/3-4/13; at Samford, 5/16-17/13; The Citadel, 3/14-16/14; Wofford, 3/21-23/14; Georgia Southern, 3/28-30/14; at Furman, 4/4-6/14; Samford, 4/11-12/14; UNCG, 4/17/14; at App State, 4/25-27/14; at Elon, 5/2-4/14), going 21-7 in those 28 SoCon games, before getting swept at Western Carolina (5/15-16/14).

- Davidson is making its first appearance in the SoCon Tournament since 2009, and is seeking its first victory since 2004. Following the Wednesday game, the 'Cats will face either No. 3 Samford or No. 6 Wofford in its second. Davidson claimed the season series over all four teams, sweeping The Citadel.

- Three Wildcats rank in the Top 10 in batting in the SoCon, as LF Lee Miller (.370), CF Forrest Brandt (.362) and DH Ryan Lowe (.343) rank third, sixth and eighth, respectively. Brandt is second in slugging percentage at .638, and he's followed by Miller in third (.623) and RF Nathan Becker at .597 in fourth. Brandt (12) and Becker (11) rank third and fourth, respectively in home runs. Brandt's team-best 49 RBIs rank sixth.

- In SoCon games as a team, Davidson ranks in the top three in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits, RBIs, doubles, home runs, and total bases.

THE SERIES

VS. THE CITADEL: Davidson trails in the all-time series, 66-117, but Davidson has now won five straight, dating back to last season, and three of the last four series. The sweep of the Bulldogs this season was the Wildcats' first against them since 2003. However, Davidson is 0-7 against The Citadel in the SoCon Tournament, and the Bulldogs eliminated the 'Cats in 2009.

VS. SAMFORD: Davidson trails in the all-time series with Samford, 7-12. The two teams met for the first time in 1999 in a non-conference game, and have played each other annually since Samford joined the SoCon in 2009. However, Davidson has won two out of three against the Bulldogs the past two seasons. The two teams have never met in the SoCon tournament.

VS. WOFFORD: Davidson leads the all-time series, 54-40. The final game of the 2010 series in Davidson was won by Davidson, 5-4, to start a streak of eight consecutive one-run games. Last season, Davidson won the first game at Wofford, 3-2, but lost an early lead in the second game to fall, 8-10, and then lost in the bottom of the ninth, 3-2 in the series finale. Davidson won two-of-three this season with the closest contest at two runs. The two teams have never met in the SoCon tournament.

NOTES

YEAR-OVER-YEAR-IMPROVEMENT: The Wildcats have improved significantly offensively, batting .304 as a team to rank second in the SoCon and rank 14th in the nation after batting just .260 last season. Last season's team finished with no batters batting above .295, but this year's has six batters batting .305 or higher. Every single starter has improved his batting average, on-base percentage and RBI total this season from last season. Ryan Lowe is the only one to see a decrease in home runs. Davidson's seven returning starters have improved their batting average and on-base percentage by an average of approximately 48 points. They are also slugging 2.78 more home runs and 8.33 more RBIs on average.

BETTER ON THE MOUND: Davidson has pitched well too, posting an ERA of 4.41 as a team. Its ERA in 2013 was 5.93.

BUILDING MOMENTUM: Last season's team finished with its most wins in conference in eight seasons, despite a completely revamped starting rotation from 2012 and 19 different pitchers seeing game action, including six freshmen. In total, Davidson returned over 82 percent of last season's innings pitched.

MIDDLE-AGED: The 2014 Wildcats are experienced, but not old. Davidson should return seven of nine positon players again and two weekend starters in 2015.

MILESTONE SEASON: Davidson reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since 2005, doing so in a program-best 28 games. It was also the quickest team to reach 28 wins.

MILESTONE SOCON SEASON: Not only are Davidson's 17 SoCon wins a program record, but the Wildcats had not had a winning season in the SoCon since 1993.

HISTORIC WINNING PERCENTAGE: At 28-17, Davidson boasts a .622 winning percentage. Davidson's best winning percentage in a season in which it played 42 or more games is .595 (1987). It is presently their best since 1958 when they went 11-6 (.639). The 'Cats' .680 SoCon percentage ranks as its third best.

POWER SURGE: After hitting just 15 home runs in 2012 and 39 in 2013, Davidson has slugged 49 this season - its most since hitting 66 in 2009. The total ranks third in the SoCon and ninth in the nation, while with 1.09 homers per game, Davidson leads the SoCon and ranks third in the nation. Every starter has at least two home runs.

BRANDT BLASTS: Forrest Brandt has been one of Davidson's leading hitters throughout his career as a four-year starter, but he hit just one homer as a freshman, two as a sophomore and one as a junior for a total of four entering his senior season. He has 12 so far this year, and had his first multi-home run game at App State (4/27), hitting two home runs in the first two innings, giving him three in two games. He had another two-homer game against UNC Asheville (5/7).

BRANDT ESTABLISHING PLACE IN DAVIDSON HISTORY: Brandt is Davidson's first SoCon Player of the Year since Jay Heafner in 2005 and the third overall (George Weicker, 1975). He is the fourth total as Andy Paul was named the Big South Player of the Year in 1992. In program history, he enters the tournament ranking seventh in hits (226), seventh in stolen bases (48), 10th in runs (137) and tied for eighth all-time with 189 games played. Brandt ranks just outside the Top 10 in doubles (44) and triples (6).

RECORD ALL-SOCON REPRESENTATION: The four total first-team selections for Davidson ties a program record set in 1987 when Alan Lewis, Billy Masse, Dan Simonds and David Turgeon all earned All-SoCon South Division first team honors. However, Davidson had never had more than five total honorees, achieving such in 1993 (Rick Bender, Brett Boretti, Chris Carrigan, Mac Chapman and Tim Kerns,) before placing six on this year's teams. Of Davidson's six all-conference selections, all are first-time honorees, as Danny Weiss was the last Wildcat to be named to the All-SoCon team in 2009.

ABOUT THE ALL-SOCON HONOREES:
Dick Cooke, Coach of the Year (consensus): Cooke earned his second coach of the year honor, but first in the Southern Conference, as he was named the Big South Coach of the Year in 1992 when Davidson was a member of that conference. He is just the second Davidson baseball coach to earn SoCon coach of the year honors, joining George Greer (1985). Cooke led the Wildcats to a second-place league finish after Davidson was picked last in the preseason poll by the league's coaches and ninth by the media. The 24th-year Wildcat skipper had the 'Cats in contention for its first league title since 1985 right up until the final day of the regular season and garnered its highest SoCon finish since a second-place showing in the South Division in 1987. The Wildcats won eight of their nine league series on the year and finished the regular season with a 28-17 overall mark and a 17-8 SoCon record. The 28 wins match the Wildcats' single-season school record, while its 17 SoCon wins set a new school record. The honor is particularly special for Cooke as he is less than two years removed from a serious car accident that he continues to rehab from.

Forrest Brandt, Co-Player of the Year (Coaches), 1st team (Consensus): Brandt is in the top 10 in several offensive categories in the SoCon with career high totals, highlighted by his .362 average (sixth) and .638 slugging percentage (second). The senior from Raleigh, N.C., is fourth in the conference with a .454 on-base percentage, fourth with 47 runs scored and sixth with 49 RBIs. He also ranks third in the SoCon with a team-best 12 home runs. Brandt earned SoCon player of the week honors on March 10 after hitting .471 with eight RBIs as the Wildcats went 4-1 that week.

Ryan Lowe, 1st team (consensus): Lowe has proven to be one of Davidson's most consistent hitters this season, reaching base in all but two games and the first 33 straight, while setting career highs with a .343 batting average (eighth in the SoCon), and a career-high .435 on-base percentage (ninth). The junior from Dallas, Texas, also boasts a career-high 27 RBIs and hit his first career grand slam this season. He also had his first four-hit game this year in a contest at Elon.

Lee Miller, 1st team (Coaches), 2nd team (Media): Miller is presently the hottest hitter in Davidson's lineup, belting six home runs and batting .545 in his last 10 games, which has vaulted him into third in the league in batting (.370) and slugging percentage (.623). Other career high totals for the sophomore from Atlanta, Ga., include a .448 on-base percentage (sixth), and a total of eight home runs and 34 RBIs.

David Daniels, 1st team (Media): Daniels was recognized at third base and has been a consistent presence at the top of Davidson's lineup. The junior from nearby Charlotte, N.C., has set career highs in multiple categories, batting .330 with four home runs and 29 RBIs, and has had four four-hit games this season. Arguably his best game of the season came against his brother, Leighton, a senior second baseman at Winthrop, as he went 4-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs in a 3-0 victory.

Danny Mooney, 2nd team (consensus): After stepping up as the leader of Davidson's starting rotation as a junior in 2013, Mooney solidified himself as one of the top pitchers in the conference this season as a senior. The Richmond, Va., native's ERA of 2.63 ranks fourth in the league, and his opposing batting average led the SoCon for much of the season, but presently ranks second, .001 behind SoCon Pitcher of the Year Josh Wirsu's, at .202. He threw his first two complete games of his career this season, holding The Citadel to one unearned run and tossing a shutout at Appalachian State. In 65.0 innings pitched and 274 batters faced, he has yielded just two home runs and 18 walks, while striking out 64.

Nathan Becker, 2nd team (Coaches): Becker is perhaps Davidson's most improved player, as he was named to the Gregg Olson Award Watch List for college baseball's "Breakout Player of the Year." The junior from Greensboro, N.C., has emerged as one of the top home run hitters in the nation this season, presently ranking fifth nationally in home runs per game with 11 in just 38 games (0.29). He also boasts career highs with a .315 batting average and 35 RBIs, and has a career-best slugging percentage of .597, which ranks fourth in the SoCon.

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