Baseball heads to Big Spring for WJCAC clash vs. Howard College

A pair of top 5 teams in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference are set for a high-stakes matchup this weekend in Big Spring.

Amarillo College (15-17, 8-4) and Howard College (16-12, 10-2) will meet for the fourth week of the conference slate on Friday and Saturday at Jack Barber Stadium.

Doubleheaders on both days are scheduled to begin at noon.

The Badgers started the season 7-1 in conference play before dropping three of four games against El Paso Community College last weekend. AC’s 8-4 conference record has them in fifth place through 12 WJCAC contests.

Howard swept Clarendon College to begin the WJCAC slate, followed by 3-1 victories against Frank Phillips College and Western College.

Their 10-2 conference record pits them in a three-way tie for second place, along with Midland College and Odessa College.

Both programs feature top 25 offenses entering the four-game series. Amarillo College has the sixth-highest batting average (.358) and eighth-best slugging percentage (.606) after 32 games.

The Hawks rank 12th in slugging (.560) and 26th in batting average (.332) through 28 games.

Howard College will hold a slight edge in the pitching department according to statistics before the series gets underway.

The Hawks 7.07 earned run average ranks 79th at the NJCAA Division I level compared to the Badgers 9.90 ERA, which ranks 123rd in the country.

A season ago the Badgers swept Howard in convincing fashion at Hodgetown, outscoring the Hawks 55-31.

The teams split a four-game set in Amarillo during the Badgers inaugural season.

The series will be streamed on The Sports Broadcasting Network at tsbnsports.com