Baseball opens GCAC play at Oakwood
The Wiley College baseball team will begin its first season of Gulf Coast Athletic Conference play on the road when it visits Oakwood University for three games Thursday through Saturday.
The series will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday. A time is yet to be determined for the second game on Friday due to potential weather. The finale will be at 8 p.m. on Saturday.
The Wildcats (8-11) played an exhibition game at NCAA Division I school Grambling State University on Tuesday. They fell in two of three games at home against Williams Baptist University. Jhan Carlos Javier went 6-for-13 last week with two doubles and a two-run home run. He drove in five runs. Javier ranks second in the conference with a .412 batting average and is tied for fourth with two home runs and 12 RBIs.
A.J. Garcia held the opposition scoreless in two of the three innings he pitched. He picked up his first career victory against Arkansas Baptist College on Tuesday and earned GCAC Pitcher of the Week. Isaac Burciaga earned his third victory – which leads the conference – with 2 1/3 scoreless innings against Williams Baptist.
Kai Woodard leads the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference and ranks in the top 40 in the NAIA with a .450 batting average, .564 on-base percentage and a .800 slugging percentage. He is third in the GCAC with three home runs and is tied for fourth with 12 RBIs. Jalen Porter leads the conference with a 1.95 earned-run average and is second with 29 strikeouts and two victories.
Wiley College has opened conference play on the road for seven straight seasons. It last opened at home in 2015 which is also the last time it won its conference-opening series.
Oakwood (0-6) made its return to the diamond after last playing in 2010. It has had limited success, only scoring five runs. The Ambassadors have allowed their opponents to score in double-digits in all six games with three scoring 20 or more.
Dylan Grigorius leads the team with a .222 batting average and a 16.50 ERA. DiMarcos Pereira and Akari have scored runs. David leads the team with eight strikeouts in nine innings.
This will be the first meeting between the Wildcats and Ambassadors.
For more coverage on the Wildcats visit https://wileyathletics.com/sports/bsb/index