CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte baseball team is set to hit the road for the final week of the regular season. The Royals will make the short drive to Boiling Springs on Tuesday, May 14^th for an in-state showdown at Gardner Webb. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN Plus. Following the action Tuesday, Queens will head to Louisville for a three-game series at Bellarmine to close out the regular season.

QUEENS ROYALS (13-39 overall, 9-18 ASUN)

• Queens enters Tuesday night on a winning note after salvaging the weekend series against Stetson with a 12-10 victory. Keanu Spenser belted a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10^th inning to send the Royals home victorious. Queens improved to 2-1 on the year in extra-inning affairs.
• The story of the season has been the Royals ability to hit the long ball. Queens has belted 82 home runs on the season as they continue to add on their single-season record. The Royals rank top 50 nationally and third in the ASUN in home runs.
• Charlotte native Dillon Lewis has been on a tear this season hitting a team-high .366 with 14 doubles and a single-season program record 19 home runs. The junior has broken the program's single-season home run, hits, RBIs, and run records this season. Lewis sits top 10 in the conference in batting average, hits, doubles, home runs, RBIs, and stolen bases.
• Senior Tyler Cotto has been a tough out at the plate this season hitting .270 with 10 doubles and 11 home runs, a mark that is second on the team. In addition to swinging a hot bat, the Arizona native has drawn a team-high 35 walks which ranks 10^th in the league. Cotto is five walks shy of tying the single season record set by Tyler Peters last season.
• Matthew Corlew has rounded into form at the plate during the second half of the season. The EKU transfer has recorded a hit in four of the last six games while also swiping 15 bases which is second most on the team.
• Rookie Jake Barbour is having a solid first season in the Queen City. The Raleigh native is hitting .243 with six doubles, eight home runs, and 13 stolen bases. The eight home runs are tied for the most in a single season by a true freshman since Dillon Lewis blasted eight in 2022.
• On the mound, the Royals have struck out 346 batters, a mark that is third most in a single season in program history. Kansas State transfer Landry Jurecka leads the Royals with 69 strikeouts and needs 10 strikeouts to tie Tanner Jacobson for the most in a single season.
• Coming out of the bullpen, graduate student Joseph Rodriguez broke the single season record with his 26^th appearance over the weekend.
• Senior Isaiah Bennett has rounded into form lately throwing 11.1 innings across five appearances. The Fayetteville native has allowed four runs on nine hits while striking out nine batters.
• The pitching staff has struggled to prevent free base runners this season surrendering the most walks in the conference. Queens is averaging 6.3 walks per game and has issued 10 or more walks on 12 occasions.

GARDNER-WEBB RUNNIN' BULLDOGS (21-29 overall, 8-13 Big South)

• Gardner-Webb is coming off a series loss at UNC Asheville over the weekend. The Runnin' Bulldogs salvaged the series with a 5-2 victory on Sunday afternoon.
• Garnder-Webb is 14-14 at Bill Masters Field this season.
• The Runnin' Bulldogs have played well against D1 Baseball Top 25 opponents. GWU lost at #7 Duke, 2-1 before falling the next week at #15 North Carolina, 5-2.
• Alec Burns is the leader of the Runnin' Bulldogs offense. The graduate student has started 43 games and is hitting .342 with nine doubles and a team-high 13 home runs and 33 RBIs.
• Peter Capobianco is a power bat in the GWU lineup. The senior is hitting .233 with a team-high 11 doubles, and 10 home runs which is second on the team.
• Right-handed reliever Connor Maggi has been the top arm out of the bullpen for the Runnin' Bulldogs. Maggi has made 27 appearances and thrown 57.2 innings and holds a 2.97 ERA.
• The Gardner-Webb pitching staff holds the fourth-best ERA in the Big South at 6.36.

BELLARMINE KNIGHTS (8-43 overall, 7-20 ASUN)

• Bellarmine will take on Southern Illinois on Tuesday night in Carbondale, Illinois before returning home to face the Royals.
• The Knights are 5-11 when playing at Knights Field this year.
• Casey Sorg is the offensive spark for the Knights hitting .344 with a team-high 12 doubles, 14 home runs, and 46 RBIs. Sorg ranks 10^th in the conference in home runs and 14^th in the league in RBIs.
• Graduate student Will Aubel is hitting a team-high .346 on the year which ranks second in the ASUN. Aubel is tied for the league-lead with 22 stolen bases.
• The Bellarmine pitching staff has struggled this year as the Knights hold an 11.01 ERA. Ross Goldschlag is the top relief arm for the Knights making 18 appearances and holding a 6.31 ERA.
• Opponents are hitting .353 on the year against Bellarmine and the Knights have struck out the fewest batters in the league at 263.

 
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