`Jacks Head to Waco to Battle Bears
2/9/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 9, 2006
Fresh off its first opening weekend in 11 years, the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack baseball team heads to Waco, Texas, to face the Baylor Bears. The `Jacks (2-1) will be looking for their second consecutive victory after taking 2-of-3 from Arkansas-Little Rock in Nacogdoches. SFA will open the series Friday at 6 p.m. and return to the field Saturday for a 3 p.m. contest. The Lumberjacks close out the series Sunday with a 2 p.m. game. All three games of the series will be played at Baylor Ballpark. Friday's game will be the season opener for the Bears, who will be receiving their 2005 College World Series rings in a pregame ceremony.
SFA vs. the Bears: The Lumberjacks are 0-12 all-time against Baylor since joining NCAA Division I status in 1988. The two teams met twice during the 1995 season, with one game being played on each team's home field. The Bears recorded a 14-1 decision in Waco and a 4-2 victory in Nacogdoches.
Jaycees Field: The Lumberjacks will be playing all their home games at Nacogdoches City Park's Jaycees Field, until the new on-campus facility is completed. Jaycees Field is where the `Jacks played their home contests through the 1995 season. Since joining the Southland Conference in the 1987-88 academic year, SFA recorded a 79-109 (.420) tally at Jaycees Field. The `Jacks best season at Jaycees Field came in 1988 when SFA recorded a 15-2 (.882) mark. The most home victories by a Lumberjack team during that stretch was 17 in 1993, when SFA recorded a 17-9 (.654) record. The `Jacks are 2-1 (.667) at home this season.
Strength of Schedule: SFA head coach Donnie Watson will put his young troops to the test early and often in 2006. The `Jacks' 2006 schedule consists of six teams that earned a spot in the 2005 NCAA Championships, including two that advanced to the College World Series (Baylor and Tulane). The 12th-ranked Tulane Green Wave is one of two teams ranked in the Baseball America Preseason Top 25 Poll (Arkansas is 20th) that SFA will be facing this year.
Lone Star Battles: The series against Baylor will be one of six match-ups against non-conference instate foes. SFA will also play Houston, Texas-Pan American, TCU, Dallas Baptist, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi this season.
Timely Hitting: The Lumberjacks hit only .252 against Arkansas-Little Rock, but it wasn't the number of hits that made the difference. In both victories over Arkansas- Little Rock, SFA won the game in their final at-bat with two outs in the inning.
The Riflemen: The UALR Trojans learned the hard way that it wasn't in their best interest to run on the `Jacks' catchers. The duo of junior Steven Hill and freshman Kevin Croft threw out six of 11attempted base stealers in the three-game series.
Like a Thief in the Night: On the opposite side of the coin, the Lumberjacks were running early and often against the Trojans' backstops. The `Jacks were a perfect 8-of-8 on stolen bases, including two by sophomore Buck Britton.
Right Place, Right Time: Freshman Erich Lehmann made two appearances in the `Jacks' opening weekend and recorded two wins. He pitched 1.2 innings, face six batters and recorded a strikeout.
On Deck ... The Lumberjacks return to action Tuesday, Feb. 14, when they travel to Houston to face the Cougars. The game against Houston is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. from Cougar Field. They will follow that up with a trip to Edinburg, Texas to face Texas-Pan American (Feb. 17), Arkansas (Feb. 18) and TCU (Feb. 19).
