Update: Friday’s game was moved up to 11 a.m. at J.C. Love Field in Ruston, Louisiana, due to field conditions.
Friday night’s baseball series opener between the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Grambling State should feature an intriguing pitching matchup.
UAPB will face Grambling State at 6 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at Wilbert Ellis Field at R.W.E. Jones Park in Grambling, La.
UAPB’s ace, junior right-handed pitcher Kenney Fabian (3-6, 4.37 ERA) boasts the fifth-best ERA in conference games, 3.67. The Golden Lions have won each of his past three starts and four of his six total in SWAC play. Overall, he has 42 strikeouts to his 21 walks.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Grambling right-hander Mason Martinez (3-2, 7.66 ERA), a graduate student, began the season as Grambling’s Saturday starter but moved to Friday nights at the start of conference play. He has a 6.38 ERA in SWAC contests.
The Tigers have not lost a SWAC game Martinez started and went 2-2 in his non-conference starts. Grambling (19-22, 14-7 SWAC) is coming off a series loss to Florida A&M but won the Friday game with Martinez holding the Rattlers to 4 runs on 9 hits in 5 innings.
GSU is 7-7 in SWAC games Martinez didn’t pitch. The FAMU series was the third SWAC series in which the Tigers won Martinez’s game but lost the other two. On each such occasion, Martinez’s wins were aided by reliever Ethan Bates. He is 4-0 with 4 saves this season and a 5.02 ERA.
One of the hitters attempting to end Martinez’s win streak will be UAPB (13-30, 11-7) center fielder Eli Gries-Smith, who improved his batting average to .366 after hitting 2 for 4 in Tuesday’s loss at Louisiana Tech. He leads the team in RBI with 36.
GSU junior outfielder Cameron Hill leads the Tigers with 54 RBI, third most in the SWAC, and 11 home runs, fifth in the league. He is also tied for second in the conference in strikeouts with 48.
UAPB has been stuck in sixth place in the SWAC since sweeping Texas Southern three weeks ago. Despite sweeping Southern and going 2-1 against Bethune-Cookman, the Golden Lions haven’t moved up the standings since, largely because they have played fewer games than most with their series versus Prairie View A&M being rained out.
The Golden Lions have, however, closed the gap between themselves and the upper teams. Grambling State enters this series tied with Texas Southern for fourth. GSU and Texas Southern each have three more wins than UAPB, but all three are tied in losses.
If UAPB can sweep this series, the Golden Lions’ win percentage would finally improve past Grambling’s and allow UAPB to continue its upward climb through the standings. A 2-1 weekend would further close the gap, but GSU would still be slightly ahead.
The Tigers have lost their past three games, including the series loss at Florida A&M and Tuesday’s midweek loss at home to Stephen F. Austin, 20-8.
UAPB has lost its past two official games but may still bring some momentum into the weekend. The Golden Lions were leading La Tech 6-4 on Wednesday when that game was canceled due to lightning in the area. The game did not complete enough innings to count as an official game, but UAPB will hope to carry that hot hitting into this weekend series.