CHARLOTTE, NC. – The Queens University of Charlotte baseball team is set for an action-packed week playing five games over the next seven days, including four in the Queen City. The Royals kick off the week on Tuesday night when they host Winthrop before turning around and heading to Raleigh to face the 14^th ranked NC State Wolfpack. Queens will close out the busy week with a three-game home series against Lehigh at The Stick.
 
QUEENS ROYALS (2-5 overall, 0-0 ASUN)

• Queens got on the right track this past weekend as they took the three-game series over Niagara University. The Royals dominated the first two games of the series by outscoring the Purple Eagles 17-4. In the first two meetings, Queens combined to throw 18.0 innings while only allowing four runs on seven hits and striking out 16.
• Senior Matthew Corlew hit for the program's first ever cycle on Sunday against the Purple Eagles. Corlew was a perfect 4-for-4, including a leadoff triple in the ninth inning to seal the milestone. The Lake Worth, Florida native is tied for the team lead with four extra base hits, including two doubles, a triple, and a home run.
• Left fielder Dillon Lewis leads the offense with a .333 average. The junior has amassed nine hits across the Royals first seven contests and is currently on a five-game hitting streak.
• Graduate student Zach Weston has made an immediate impact in his final season in Charlotte. The third baseman has started all seven games and is hitting .250 on the year with three doubles and a home run.
• Catcher Tyler Cotto has found his groove in his second season in the Queen City. The senior boasts a .520 on-base percentage drawing a team-high seven walks while also sitting second on the team in batting average. Behind the dish, Cotto has gunned down four runners.
• Freshman Jake Barbour is finding ways to make an impact from the leadoff spot for the Royals. The rookie belted home runs in consecutive games against Niagara and has five walks on the year which is second most on the team.
• In his second start of the season, Kansas State transfer Landry Jurecka pitched 8.0 innings allowing just four hits while striking out nine batters on 103 pitches. Jurecka would retire 20 of the last 21 batters he would face after giving up an early run in the first inning.
• This season has been a tale of two halves on the mound for the Royals as Queens is averaging 10.6 walks and 4.4 hit by pitches on the year. However, in both wins this weekend, Queens cut back significantly on the free passes issuing nine combined in both wins.

 
WINTHROP EAGLES (2-6 overall, 0-0 Big South )

• Winthrop is coming off a series split against Toledo as each squad took two games from the four game set. Winthrop took game one on Friday afternoon before they split the double header Saturday, and Toledo took the fourth and final game of the series.
• Freshman infielder Jaylen Hernandez is off to a hot start in his young career. He has a team-leading four doubles on the season, including three games where he recorded multiple hits.
• Charlie Evans has a team-leading .381 batting average for the Eagles. Evans comes into Tuesday's matchup with a four-game hitting streak as the sophomore looks to continue building on his impressive start to the season.
• Redshirt junior pitcher Reese Lumpkin is off to a great start for the Eagles. Across two starts, the Columbia, SC native has 14 strikeouts while surrendering just two earned runs across 13.0 innings of work.
• The Eagles pitching staff has electric stuff as they come into the matchup third in the Big South in total strikeouts through two weeks. Winthrop is also efficient at keeping free runners off the bases as they are fourth in the Big South in walks.
• Winthrop has struggled in the field as they are second in the Big South with 12 errors on the young season.
• Tom Riginos is in his 14^th season as head coach at Winthrop. In his time as skipper for the Eagles, Riginos has guided the program to two conference championship appearances, and a Big South regular season title in 2017. Since becoming Head Coach, Winthrop has had 10 players drafted in the MLB Draft, including Zach Peek in the sixth round and he was the highest Winthrop player selected since 2005.

NC STATE WOLFPACK (4-2 overall, 0-0 ACC)

• The 14^th ranked Wolfpack are coming off a road series win over the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. Both offenses were on fire as the series featured over 50 combined runs with the Wolfpack taking the series finale 10-8.
• The NC State offense is off to an electric start as seven starters are hitting over .300, with Garrett Pennington hitting a team-leading .407 across their six contests. Pennington, the Wichita State transfer, has a team-leading four doubles.
• East Carolina transfer Alec Makarewicz is the leading slugger for the Wolfpack. The grad student has a team-leading three home runs, and 11 RBIs. Makarewicz also leads NC State with 19 total bases.
• Catcher Jacob Cozart, who was tabbed as the eighth best college prospect by D1Basbeall, is off to a great start for the Wolfpack. Cozart has reached base in every game while also throwing out two runners in the first game of the series against Hawaii.
• On the bump, Freshman Ryan Marohn is off to an impressive start in his first year with the Wolfpack. Across two starts, the Chantilly, Virginia native has allowed just three runs with a tie for the team-lead nine strikeouts.
• Out of the bullpen, Shane Van Dam has been a steadying presence. Across three appearances, the sophomore has allowed three earned runs, striking out nine batters, and holding his opponent to a .167 batting average.
• Elliott Avent is entering his 28th season as head coach of the Wolfpack program. In his time as skipper for NC State, he has formed the Wolfpack into one of the nation's most consistent programs. He has guided NC State to two College World Series appearances, five super regionals, and 20 regional appearances across his 27 seasons as head coach. Avent earned his 1,000th career win at NC State against VCU. NC State has had 127 players selected in the MLB Draft under the tutelage of Elliott Avent, including MLB All Stars Trea Turner and Carlos Rodon.

LEHIGH MOUNTAIN HAWKS (3-3, 0-0 Patriot Lague)

• Lehigh fell in the weekend series against Charleston Southern as they took 1-of-3 from the Buccaneers. In the rubber match Sunday, the Mountain Hawks gave up three runs in the final two frames as they fell in a narrow 7-6 contest.
• Junior infielder Justin Butler is off to a torrid start for the Mountain Hawks. The Quakertown, Pennsylvania native has mashed four home runs, including two against Iowa. Butler also leads the team in RBIs, hits, and total bases.
• Jake Whitlinger has reached base in 5-of-6 games for Lehigh. Whitlinger was crucial in the Mountain Hawks 8-4 win over Iowa, as he went 4-for-5, with 3 RBIs.
• On the bump, Alex Bouchard is in line to get the start on Friday night. The junior right-handed pitcher is electric as he has eleven strikeouts across 6.2 innings of work with four earned runs and three walks.
• Junior pitcher Marcus Danchison has been elite out of the bullpen for Lehigh. Across three appearances, the Ringtown, Pennsylvania native has allowed zero earned runs, four hits, while striking out five batters in 5.1 innings of action.
• The Lehigh pitching staff struggles preventing the long ball as they have allowed nine home runs.
• The Mountain Hawks are looking to improve in the field as they have 14 errors on the season, including six in the second game of the weekend against Charleston Southern.
• Sean Leary is entering his 29th season as Head Coach at his alma mater. He has guided the program to two NCAA regionals, and two regular-season conference titles. In his time as skipper, he has coached five All-Americans, four Patriot League Player of the Year, and twelve players who have gone on to play professional ball.

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