GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum Pioneers will face 2023 South Atlantic Conference champion Newberry this Friday night at 6:30 p.m. in the opening round weekend of the SAC Baseball Championship.
This year's SAC Championship Tournament will be held over the next two weekends with the opening round taking place this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at campus sites and concluding with a best-of-three series next weekend (May 7-8) at Smokies Stadium in Kodak, Tennessee.
Tusculum is the No. 8 seed and will open against the top-seeded in one half of the double-elimination opening round at the Smith Road Complex in Newberry, South Carolina. Also playing in this half of the bracket are No. 4-seed Carson-Newman and No. 5-seed Lenoir-Rhyne.
Head coach Brandon Steele has his Pioneers back in the SAC postseason as TU posted a 25-22 regular-season record including 11-13 in league play to finish eighth in the conference standings.
Offensively, senior third baseman Christian Ortega leads the charge where he is batting .395 which is fourth in the SAC. His 20 doubles are second in the league and eighth-most in NCAA Division II. His doubles tally this year is tied for the fifth-most in program history.
The 2023 All-SAC second team selection leads the team in runs scored (45 – T11th in SAC), hits (66 – 4th in SAC / 47th in NCAA II), home runs (8 – T10th in SAC), RBI (44 – T8th in SAC), total bases (112), slugging percentage (.671 – 8th in SAC) and on-base percentage (.485 – 6th in SAC).
Junior shortstop Ben Scartz is second on the team with his .357 batting average (14th in SAC) while playing in his first season in Greeneville. The 2023 All-SAC third team honoree has totaled 56 hits including 11 doubles with 34 RBI and 38 runs scored. He has struck out 11 times in his 186 plate appearances (14.3 – 3rd in SAC / 32nd in NCAA II).
Scartz was also named to the SAC All-Defensive team as his .982 fielding percentage is the highest amongst league shortstops. He has made only three errors in his 170 total fielding chances including 141 errorless chances to start his TU career.
Senior outfielder Tyler Ranel is third on the team where he is batting .348. He has totaled 54 hits including nine doubles and is tied for the team-lead with three triples and eight home runs (T10th in SAC). The 2023 All-SAC second team selection has recorded 26 RBI and scored 42 runs in his 39 starts. He is also tied for the team-lead with nine stolen bases.
Senior Zane Keener, a 2022 All-SAC third team pick, is fourth on the roster with his .311 batting average. Keener played most of the season as TU's designated hitter where he accounted for 46 hits with 11 doubles, two triples, five homers and 29 RBI. His .449 on-base percentage is second on the club and 20th in the league. He also scored 40 runs this season and recorded the longest hitting streak this year with 14 straight games. His 43-game on-base streak ended at Catawba for the fifth-longest streak in school history. He leads the team with 28 walks (T18th in SAC) and is third with five stolen bases.
Senior second baseman Rudy Fernandez is fifth on the team batting .305 where he has played in 32 games with 31 starts. He leads the team with his eight sacrifice bunts which are eighth in the conference and 20th in NCAA II. Fernandez has 32 hits to his credit including four doubles and a triple, while also totaling 19 RBI.
Junior Will Samuelson has been handling the duties at first base for the Pioneers. Samuelson has a .291 batting average and is third on the team with his seven home runs and second with 36 RBI. He has scored 27 runs while accumulating 41 hits with eight doubles and 24 walks.
Senior Murphy Flood patrols right field for Tusculum where he has six outfield assists and is batting .262. He has accounted for 38 hits this year with 10 doubles, one triple, one home run and 32 RBI.
The trio of Blaze McCauley, Kaden Swaim and Dylan Symonds have handled the catching duties. McCauley has played in 30 games behind the plate while batting .264 with 24 hits, six doubles, one homer and 13 RBI. Swaim is batting .267 and has appeared in 17 games including nine behind the dish. Symonds is batting .233 and has played in 17 games at catcher.
Senior Wes Reynolds has appeared in 35 games this season including 33 in the outfield. He has belted five home runs this year and 12 for his career. He has four doubles and is tied for the team lead with three triples.
Senior Zach Brunet is hitting .400 this season in his 11 outings which includes three doubles and two home runs. Junior outfielder Luis Reyes has a .293 batting average and is a perfect 9-of-9 in stolen bases.
Junior right-hander Luke Absher is slated to get the Friday start on the mound for the Pioneers. Absher has a 4-2 record with a 3.94 earned run average in his 13 appearances including 12 starts. He has pitched a team-high 75.1 innings with 56 strikeouts against 19 walks and has pitched a complete game.
Junior right-hander Seth Willis went 6-4 in his 13 outings and led the team with 60 strikeouts. He pitched a pair of complete games including a no-hitter against Davis & Elkins. He has a 5.02 ERA in his 66.1 innings of work.
Junior Brady Salyards owns a 4-1 record in his eight weekend starts where he has a 4.46 ERA with 39 strikeouts and 20 walks in his 38.1 innings on the bump.
Senior Jacob Willett emerged as Tusculum's closer where he posted a 2.76 ERA with two saves and a 4-4 record. He made 19 relief appearances while pitching in 29.1 innings with 20 walks, 27 strikeouts and limited the opposition to bat .178 against him.
Sophomore Drew Sliwinski made 18 appearances with three starts on the mound as he posted a 5.13 ERA, went 2-3 with a save and struck out 36.
Junior Jonathan Nelson pitched in 15 games with a 5.52 ERA and a 2-0 record with one save. He recorded 23 strikeouts in his 29.1 innings.
Junior Trejen Fox-Birdwell, who is also a member of the Tusculum football team, owns a 2-2 record and a save in his 14 appearances. Sophomore Billy Quinn was TU' mid-week starter where he made 16 appearances with five starts. He went 1-2 with a 7.43 ERA. Tusculum has also got innings out of Sam Bonilla (4.82 ERA, 0-1 record, 11 strikeouts).
The SAC Baseball Championship winner will earn the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Tournament which will be held next month at campus sites.
In their SAC Tournament history, the Pioneers have won the championship four times with the last coming in 2016. The Pioneers have won the SAC Tournament in 2005, 2008, 2012 and 2016. Tusculum is 51-36 all-time in SAC postseason play.
