CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Campbellsville University baseball will get started with their 2019 season this weekend as they hit the road for Hattiesburg, Miss. to face William Carey University in a four-game series. CU and WCU will play a double on both Friday and Saturday with Friday's slate starting at 4 p.m. ET and Saturday's starting at 1 p.m. ET.
Tiger baseball will broadcast on the CU Sports Network all season long as
Zach Clements will be on the call for this weekend's games against William Carey.
The No. 14 Tigers are coming off of an extremely successful 2018 season where they won 44 games on their way to winning the Mid-South Conference Championship and an NCCAA National Title.
CU will return their best hitter from a season ago in center fielder
Tyson Solis, who started all 63 games for the Tigers last season. Solis hit a robust .363 (89-for-245) on the season with a .409 on-base percentage 37 RBIs, 51 runs scored and 18 doubles at the top of the order for Campbellsville.
The Tigers will also return their pair of Floridian backstops in senior
Austin Peterson and junior
Brandon Douglas. Peterson, from Miami, Fla., started 20 games last season, hitting .310 (22-for-71) with 11 RBIs and an on-base percentage of .410. Douglas, from Jacksonville, Fla., started 22 games with a .329 (25-for-76) batting average with 14 RBIs and an on-base percentage .416 on-base percentage.
The front end of the Campbellsville pitching rotation will be led by the tandem of seniors in
Parker Loutensock and
Tyler Deason. Loutensock, a 6-3 righty from Magna, Utah, finished with a 5-0 record while appearing in 14 games with 13 starts for an ERA of 3.48 in 72.1 innings pitched. Deason, a 6-4 right-hander from Campbell, Calif., appeared in 16 games with 13 starts and a 3.18 ERA in 70.2 innings pitched.
The Crusaders of William Carey are already 2-2 on the season with a win and a loss against both Missouri Baptist and Ave Maria. Their season opener was an extra innings win where they won 7-6 in the 13
th inning against Missouri Baptist.
A look ahead on the schedule for the Tigers sees them face off with six teams who are either voted in the top-25 or receiving votes in the Preseason NAIA Coaches' Poll.
CU will face a tough test early in No. 20 Reinhardt University next weekend in Waleksa, Ga. against the Eagles in a four-game series starting Feb. 15.
Other ranked opponents include No. 12 Tennessee Wesleyan University on Feb. 22 and Feb. 24, No. 15 Bryan College on Feb. 23 and No. 19 Cumberlands in a three-game series from March 29-30. Every game Campbellsville will play against a team voted in the preseason top-25 will be played on the road.
The Tigers' home opener will be Tuesday, Feb. 19 against Indiana University Southeast, who are receiving votes in the preseason poll. CU will play three non-conference home series against Siena Heights University (March 2-3), Fisher College (March 8-10), and Huntington University (March 18-19).
The Mid-South Conference portion of the schedule will start up with a series against Shawnee State at HIG Baseball Field on March 22-23. Campbellsville will host conference series against the Bears, RV Cumberland University (April 12-13) and Georgetown (April 26-27) to finish off the regular season.
CU will defend their conference crown starting at the Mid-South Conference Tournament on May 2 in Bowling Green, Ky. at the Bowling Green Ball Park.
