Baseball

Cougar Baseball Looks to Pass .500 Mark
         The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville baseball team has a chance to surpass the .500 barrier for the first time since the third game of the season when it plays host to Quincy in a single game at Roy Lee Field on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
         The Cougars are coming off a three-win road trip at Lewis to bring their overall record to 12-12 and their Great Lakes Valley Conference record to 6-7.
         Quincy (14-10, 6-3 GLVC) is coming off a four-game sweep of Bellarmine that helped launch the Hawks into fourth place in the conference standings.
         “They always get up for us,” said Coach Gary Collins. “I hope we can get up for them.”
         Following Wednesday’s game, the Cougars then play a home-and-home series with Southern Indiana. The teams square off Saturday at noon at Roy Lee Field, then will finish the two-game series Sunday in Evansville, Ind.
         USI is near the bottom of the conference standings with a 2-7 GLVC record.
         “Neither of us has been playing very well, so I don’t know what to expect,” Collins said.
         Jason Kessler (Mattoon) is pacing the Cougar offense with a .385 batting average. He also has a team-high 19 RBIs and is tied for the team lead in home runs with two.
         Luke Humphrey (Rantoul) is second on the team with a .360 batting average and has hit all five of SIUE’s triples.
         Ryan Spurgeon (Bethalto) leads the pitching staff with a 1.86 earned run average. Brian Keating (St. Louis), who threw a no-hitter two weeks ago, has a 2-2 record with a 2.42 ERA.