FLORENCE, Ala. (March 19, 2026) – The University of North Alabama baseball team hosts its first conference opponent of the season in Eastern Kentucky beginning on Friday, March at 7 p.m. at Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium.
Live stats will be available via StatBroadcast. All three games are streamed through ESPN+ with all links being available through RoarLions.com.
North Alabama vs Eastern Kentucky
Friday, March 20, 2026
7 p.m.
Live Stats |
ESPN+ |
Tickets
North Alabama vs Eastern Kentucky
Saturday, March 21, 2026
2:30 p.m.
Live Stats |
ESPN+ |
Tickets
North Alabama vs Eastern Kentucky
Sunday, March 22, 2026
1 p.m.
Live Stats |
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Tickets
NOTES
THE RUNDOWN: UNA dropped its midweek against Tennessee Tech on Tuesday, 10-9 in Florence, Ala. Sophomore
Wes Walker led the day hitting 3-for-5 with four RBIs, two runs and a home run.
Petey Craska followed him up with a 2-for-4 night, three RBIs and two doubles. North Alabama scored five runs in the fourth and four runs in the fifth to create the nine runs while clawing back from an 8-0 deficit. Aside from Craska and Walker,
Will Millard had two hits while
Justin Santoyo,
Bryant Loving and
Jackson Westmoreland each had one. This was the second loss when the Lions have 10 or more hits this season; the team was 5-1 when doing so entering this contest. Walker, Millard and Santoyo plated twice in the contest while Loving, Westmoreland and
Nash Rippen all had one run each. Rippen extended his reaching base safely streak to 18.
SERIES HISTORY: This will be the 19th, 20th and 21st all-time meetings between the two programs — all coming during the Division I era. Last season, the Lions took both series wins over the Colonels with the final punching their ticket to the ASUN Postseason Tournament for the first time in school history. The other win against EKU came in 2022 with an outstanding 10-1 score. The 2022 game saw four home runs, tied for the most in a game during the Division I era.
SCOUTING THE COLONELS: EKU travels to Florence owning a 7-14 overall record coupled with a 2-1 conference record after the series win against Central Arkansas. The Colonels are currently on a two series win streak after defeating Illinois State the weekend prior. Eastern Kentucky traveled to No. 22 Tennessee where it dropped that game 10-3. The Colonels sit fifth in the conference for batting average at .265, 10th in pitching at an ERA of 8.17 and last in fielding with a .958. Dylan Littlefield is second in RBIs with 25 while Pedro Moreno is tied for fifth with eight doubles in the conference.
PUNCH THE TICKET: On Saturday, May 10, North Alabama readied for their conference matchup with Eastern Kentucky. A beginning game time of 2 p.m. quickly turned into a 9:30 p.m. start time as weather covered the Florence area. The game finished well after midnight and it proved to be beneficial to play the game. Then-senior
Anthony Pingeton threw a complete game with 11 strikeouts in 34 batters faced. The win elevated the Lions to 20 total wins for the season, the first time during Division I. With the win, the Lions punched their ticket to the ASUN Postseason Tournament for the first time during the Division I era.
LEADER, LEADER: The Lions are the top statistical team in the ASUN when it comes to fielding percentage, boasting the league best of .977. This metric is due in part to the team committing the least amount of errors with only 16 through the 21-game season; the next closest team has 20. The catchers for UNA have been a wall, as well, allowing only one passed ball – another league best.
HOME RUN HEAVY: The Lions sit at 10th in the conference when it comes to hits with 159 this season. However, the team is placed in second for home runs blasted with 25 this season. That falls only behind the Graphite division leader, FGCU who has 27 with 277 total hits in the entire conference.
Nash Rippen boasts the most with seven while
Dylan Coleman is second with six of his own while five other Lions have two each.
TETHERED TOGETHER: Aside from being conference opponents and now divisional opponents within the ASUN, these two programs have a couple more ties. Newly acquired assistant coach J.D. Davis began his coaching career at EKU in 2022 as a graduate manager. He helped serve as an infield instructor and team defense coordinator and was promoted to a full-time assistant by 2023 and even had a hand in recruiting efforts. Not only Davis has ties as junior outfielder
Tait Nunnally transferred from the Colonels this past offseason where he was an ASUN Conference All-Freshman Team selection in 2024.
UP NEXT: After the clash with the Colonels, North Alabama gets a few days of rest before their bout with Bellarmine in Louisville, Ky. on Friday, March 27 at Knights Field.
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