ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Golden Grizzlies baseball team heads back on the road for another weekend series as it's set to take on Eastern Kentucky at Earle Combs Stadium, with the series opener slated for 4:00 p.m. Friday (Feb. 23).
 
The Golden Grizzlies (1-2, 0-0 HL) took down Saint Mary's on the road in its season opener, 5-0, but fell in its final two games of the series against the Gaels.
 
In the Golden Grizzlies 5-0 win, Lucas Day got the scoring started with a RBI in the third and proceeded to bat in three more in the fifth after he took his first pitch out of the park. Reggie Bussey tacked on the final run of the day as Aidan Orr crossed the plate from a single towards left field, as Bussey finished off game one a perfect 5-for-5 with one RBI.
 
In his first quality start, Hunter Pidek, who earned Horizon League Pitcher of the Week, pitched seven innings and faced 28 batters, only allowing five hits. With two walks, the junior struck out four batters and helped Oakland secure its first win of the season.
 
In game two, the Gaels jumped to a 4-0 lead in the fourth but Oakland answered with a pair of runs itself the following innings. St. Mary's wasn't done, however, as it tallied five runs in the sixth, followed by four in the seventh to even the series and win, 13-2.T The series closer started to get away from the Golden Grizzlies as it went down, 11-1, but Oakland didn't count itself out and started to battle back in the eighth. Oakland tallied five runs in the eighth off a two-out rally, and nearly tied things up as Day hammered another home run in the ninth to make it 11-8, but the Gaels closed it out and got the win.
 
Through three games, the Golden Grizzlies have 26 hits for a .245 batting average and have batted in 13 runs. With two home runs, both from Day, Oakland has added one triple and four doubles on the season. Bussey leads the team with a .583 batting average as he's knocked down seven hits, with one double, and was 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts. Day leads the team with seven RBI and has recorded four hits in nine at-bat.
 
Pidek gets the nod once again to start the series, as Brandon Decker and Sean Fekete will follow. Decker and Fekete look to get back on track after they both recorded a loss in their debuts.
 
SCOUTING THE COLONELS
Eastern Kentucky (0-4, 0-0 ASUN) had a tough opening to its season as it traveled to Auburn to face nationally-ranked no. 15 Auburn. The team got bested by Auburn in game one, 17-6, in seven innings as the Tigers scored in every inning besides two. The team nearly bounced back the following game and only fell, 6-1, but dropped the series closer, 9-1. The team totaled 14 hits in the series and finished with a .161 batting average.
 
The team continued its tough start to the season as it faced Vanderbilt, who is sixth in the NCAA, yesterday and fell on the road, 5-3. The team nearly upset Vanderbilt, as it was only down by a run heading into the eighth inning, but Vanderbilt got an insurance run to take the game.
 
Eastern Kentucky has the upper hand in the series against Oakland, which dates back to 2006, as the Golden Grizzlies are 2-9 and look to break a six-game skid. Oaklands last win came in 2009 as it handled business, 17-6, with its other win two years prior in 2007 and won, 5-1. All 11 matchups have come at Eastern Kentucky as Oakland nearly took its last meeting (March 10, 2019) as it fell, 2-1.
 
Conner Davis leads the team with a .308 batting average and is tied for the team-lead with four hits. Tait Nunnally leads the Colonels with a trio of runs batted in with one home run.
 
The Colonels are expected to throw Nathan Lawson (RHP), Ryker Walton (RHP) and Quinton Hall (LHP) as both Lawson and Walton are slated for their first starts of the season. Lawson has 23.14 ERA with six runs allowed in 2.1 innings pitched, as the day two starter in Walton holds 3.86 ERA in his 4.2 innings pitched with three strikeouts and three walks. Hall holds the only loss between the three with 10.80 ERA in 3.1 innings pitched with a trio of strikeouts.
 
First pitch from Earle Combs Stadium is slated for 4:00 p.m. ET Friday and can be streamed live on ESPN+.