MARSHALL, Texas – After a successful eleven game home stand, the East Texas Baptist University baseball team returns to the road traveling to Alpine, Texas. They face Sul Ross State University in a crucial series in the American Southwest Conference.
 
In their last series against LeTourneau University, the Tigers managed to take two-of-three from the Yellow Jackets. After a come-from-behind game one victory, 6-5, thanks to a walk-off single by Zach Gartner, the Tigers trounced LETU 12-2 to earn the series win in a doubleheader sweep. Although they would rally to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning thanks to a Gartner three-run homer, a weather delay halted their chances of a sweep as LETU took game three 7-6 in ten innings.
 
Overall, the series was a success, especially for two players who received weekly honors. Pitcher Alan Underwood became the ASC Pitcher of the Week pitching in the second game going eight innings allowing with five strikeouts while conceding an unearned run and no walks. Seth Mikeska would also be honored as a member of the D3baseball.com Team of the Week as the designated  hitter. He batted .750 (nine-for-12) with six RBI, four extra base hits, including three doubles and a homer while finishing with a slugging percentage of .750 and an on-base percentage of 1.125.
 
In their previous eleven home games, the Tigers went 9-2, which helped propelled their overall record to 21-10 while posting a 10-5 conference record. This has put them in third place in the conference trailing Louisiana College by just one game. For head coach Jared Hood, playing at home was a huge turning point to ETBU's season up to this point. "It was good to be home after starting the same on the road," said Coach Hood. "We spent much of February on the road so to be able to come home and play at the yard was good. We had some good all-around performances."
 
Now the focus shifts to a critical series for ETBU as they look to hold off a SRSU squad that while 13-14 overall, is one game back at 9-6 in conference play. This marks the first time in two years ETBU has played the Lobos after sweeping them in Marshall back on March 25-26, 2017. Dropping two of three to Concordia University (TX), the Lobos are led by Chris York, who has a team-high .412 batting average while Tim Johnson leads in multiple offensive categories, including hits (39), homers (four), and RBI (28). On the mound, Aaron Marquez has three wins along with a 4.60 ERA and 36 strikeouts among the starters.
 
Game one of the series begins on Friday at 7:00 PM while Saturday's doubleheader will start at 12:00 PM.