The Southwest Tennessee Community College baseball team will host Columbia State Community College this weekend in the Saluqis' final home conference series of the 2003 season. Games times at Tony Gagliano Memorial Field will be a 4:00 p.m. single game on Friday, followed by a noon doubleheader on Saturday. The Saluqis enter the series with a 28-20 overall record and a 11-12 record in the Tennessee Junior and Community College Athletic Association. Southwest is coming off a doubleheader sweep of Shawnee Community College on Tuesday afternoon in Ullin, Illinois after winning one of three games last weekend at Cleveland State. Columbia State enters the series with a 23-21 overall record and a 11-10 record in the TJCCAA. The Saluqis and the Chargers met five times last season, with Columbia State winning four of the games.

Southwest, led by eighth-year head coach Doug Darnall, ranks third in the TJCCAA in both batting (.313 team average) and pitching (3.96 team earned run average.) The probable starting pitcher for Friday's game is freshman righthander Michael Steele, who has a 5-3 record and a 4.72 ERA. Steele has struck out 39 batters while walking only five in a team-leading 47-2/3 innings. Probable starters for Saturday's games are freshman righthanders Jamie Carrico (5-3, 3.69 ERA, 49 strikeouts) and Charlie Ligon (2-1, 3.70 ERA.) The Saluqis' top hitter is freshman catcher/designated hitter Nick Smith, who is batting .367 and also leads the team with nine home runs and 53 runs batted in. Other top hitters for Southwest are sophomore first baseman Jacob Barker (.362, 24 RBI), sophomore centerfielder Patrick Williams (.340, 26 RBI, 23 stolen bases), and sophomore second baseman Reggie Huguet (.330, six home runs, 29 RBI.)

Columbia State is directed by long-time coach Jim Painter, who recently won the 1000th game of his coaching career and is a member of the TJCCAA Hall of Fame. His Chargers rank fourth in the conference in pitching with a 4.21 ERA and fifth in hitting with a .303 team batting average. They are led by shortstop Eric McNamee, last year's West Division Player of the Year. McNamee is batting .351 with 11 doubles and 21 RBI. Probable pitchers for Columbia State are Randall Hodge (4-4, 2.33 ERA), Dean Mitchell (5-5, 2.43 ERA, 65 strikeouts), and Eric Vanderburg (5-3, 2.94 ERA, 58 strikeouts.)