SLC East Division leaders to battle

• Advocate news services
• Published: May 9, 2008 - Page: 5C - UPDATED: 12:30 a.m.

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NATCHITOCHES — With the Southland Conference East Division title on the line, Northwestern State and Lamar will meet at 6:30 p.m. today to open a three-game series.

Northwestern State (25-23, 14-9 SLC) trails Lamar (28-19, 16-8 SLC) by 1‰ games in the standings.

“This is a huge weekend,” said Northwestern State coach J.P. Davis. “Anytime we play Lamar, it’s a big weekend. We’ve got a lot of respect for those guys. They’ve been a class program for a long time. We feel like we bring out the best of each other.”

The best is what Davis is hoping he gets from his starting rotation of Jimmy Heard (6-3, 3.33 ERA), Heath Hennigan (3-3, 4.12), and Clayton Cooper (5-3, 3.97).

Mike Jaworski leads the Demons with team highs in hitting (.362), home runs (15), and runs batted in (45), followed by Anthony Jones with a .339 average.

Lamar is expected to start pitcher Brian Sisk (8-2, 3.55) in the opener.

The Cardinals are hitting .280 as a team and are led by first baseman Steven Tucker’s .352 average.

Tulane travels to ECU
NEW ORLEANS — Tulane opens a three-game Conference USA series at East Carolina beginning at 6 p.m. today at Clark LeClair Stadium in Greenville, N.C.

Tulane enters the series 33-15-1 and in second place in the conference standings at 10-6-1. The Green Wave hold a half-game lead over Southern Miss (34-15, 11-7), East Carolina (36-13, 11-7) and Houston (30-18, 11-7).

“It’s a very challenging weekend,” Tulane coach Rick Jones said. “They’re playing very well. They’ve got some great wins and their RPI is one of the best in the country for a reason. Being here with their fans and the atmosphere they have, it’s going to be a challenging weekend. It’s going to be a Regional atmosphere, I’m sure.”

As a team, the Green Wave are hitting .297 with a .464 slugging percentage on the strength of 96 doubles, 19 triples and 49 home runs. Third baseman Rob Segedin leads the team with a .354 batting average while junior infielder/outfielder Anthony Scelfo and junior middle infielder Seth Henry follow with .333 and .324 averages, respectively.

Scelfo and Andrew Rodgers lead the team with 10 home runs each, Segedin has a team-best 47 RBIs.

Right-hander Shooter Hunt leads the Green Wave with eight wins, 96 strikeouts, and a 2.04 ERA. Mason Griffin paces the staff with 22 appearances and has six of the team’s 11 saves.