Ottawa is 20-4 overall, 11-2 in the KCAC, and ranked no. 22 in the latest NAIA Poll. The Braves enter the series with Saint Mary coming off a 12-11 loss to McPherson College on Tuesday at Alumni Park. Ottawa trailed 12-8 in the bottom of the ninth but were unable to complete the comeback.
The Braves have scored 211 runs this season, hit 35 home runs, have a .324 batting average, a .440 on base percentage, and a .556 slugging percentage.
For the third straight week, and the fourth time this season, Ottawa had the KCAC Baseball Player of the Week.
Cole Broughton, a senior outfielder from Tushke, Okla., hit .625 (10-for-16) in four games last week. He scored four runs, hit one double and three home runs, drove in 11 runs, had a 1.250 slugging percentage, did not strike out once, walked once, was hit by a pitch once, and had a .667 on base percentage.
The Braves are 12-2 at Alumni Park this season. OU is hitting .347 with 139 runs scored, 36 doubles, five triples, and 17 home runs. Ottawa has 117 RBI, a .588 slugging percentage, walked 81 times, has a .476 on base percentage, and is 67-for-78 in stolen base attempts. OU's pitching staff has a 5.04 ERA, striking out 130 in 109.0 innings. Opponents have a .264 batting average against OU at Alumni Park.
Ottawa's 67 stolen bases at Alumni Park would rank them 13th in the NAIA. This season, the Braves have 99 stolen bases, which ranks them third in the NAIA. The top two are Georgia Gwinnett with 147 and Talladega with 117.
Brian Parry leads the Braves in batting average (.406),
Cole Broughton is OU's leader in RBI (30),
Jeremy Freeman, Jr. leads Ottawa in stolen bases (21), and
Zack Melendez is the team's leader in ERA (2.97) and strike outs (38).
Ottawa is ranked 41st in the NAIA in at bats (727), 20th in runs (211), 27th in hits (232), 25th in doubles (48), 29th in triples (7), ninth in home runs (35), 22nd in RBI (182), ninth in extra base hits (90), 15th in total bases (399), 39th in walks (118), 33rd in hit by pitch (39), 45th in sacrifice flies (10), 19th in sacrifice hits (14), third in stolen bases (99), third in caught stealing (22), 34th in batting average (.324), 32nd in on base percentage (.440), 14th in slugging percentage (.556), 32nd in ERA (4.80), 36th in WHIP (1.45), 38th in at bats against (703), and 31st in opponent batting average (.248).
Ottawa has a record of 44-41 against the University of Saint Mary. The Spires took the series last year 2-1, winning games one and two 7-6 and 4-1. The Braves took game three, 6-3. Ottawa has won five straight games against Saint Mary in Ottawa. The last time the Braves lost to the Spires at home was on March 23, 2019. USM won the game 7-2. The first ever game between the two team happened on March 16, 2002 in Ottawa. The Braves won the game 10-0.
The University of Saint Mary has an overall record of 5-12 and is 3-5 in the KCAC. USM is on a two game losing streak with losses to Bethany College on March 11 (17-9) and William Woods University on March 12 (17-9).
This season, the Spires have scored 81 runs, hit eight home runs, have a .268 batting average, a .360 on base percentage, and a .368 slugging percentage.
Daniel Martinez leads the team in batting average (.431) and RBI (13). Saul Vazquez-Alvarado is USM's leader in stolen bases (3). Nicholas Salgado leads the Spires in ERA (1.64). Hayden Roop and Andrew Zarate lead Saint Mary in strike outs with 12 apiece.
USM is ranked 22nd in the NAIA in hit into a double play (16).
Saint Mary has a record of 2-4 on the road this season. Away from Leavenworth, the Spires are hitting .267, have a .359 on base percentage, and a .426 slugging percentage. They are averaging eight runs per game, have 28 RBI, 21 walks, and 34 strike outs.
