SFA Places Four On Preseason All-Southland Conference Teams
2/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 8, 2008
Link To Southland Conference Full Release
FRISCO, Texas - The Southland Conference released its 2008 preseason picks and all-conference teams on Friday, with the Lumberjacks picked fourth in both the coaches and SID polls. SFA also placed four players on the preseason teams with two others garnering honorable mention honors.
The coaches and SID polls turned out to be mirror images of each other with UT-San Antonio picked to repeat in the SLC West and Lamar tabbed to take the SLC East for the second consecutive season. Defending SLC Tournament champion Sam Houston was picked for the second slot in the West, ahead of Texas State and SFA.
"I think it's a compliment for us to be picked where we are in the West," head coach Donnie Watson said. "The three schools ahead of us are all traditionally very good in this conference, and for us to be picked behind those three after losing what we lost from last year definitely shows that we are earning respect in the Southland."
Erich Lehmann was the only Lumberjack that made his way onto the preseason first team; however, infielder Noel Trevino, catcher Kevin Croft and pitcher Lance Luetge all found their names on the second team. SFA also had a pair of outfielders nab honorable mention honors in Zach Gardner and Kevin Crabtree.
Lehmann, a third-team pick at the end of 2007, is the winningest pitcher in the SLC over the past two seasons with a 17-5 record and is expected to be the lead horse of an SFA staff that returns its top three starters from last season. He will be joined in that rotation by Luetge, a 6-foot-4-inch left-hander who also earned SLC Third Team honors last season. SFA has the only staff in the SLC that returns three pitchers that picked up 15 starts and logged at least 85 innings in 2007.
"Erich Lehmann definitely deserves all the recognition that he gets this season," Watson said. "He's won more games than any pitcher in the SLC in the last two seasons and he'll be our go-to guy this season. As for Lance, I'm excited about where he is too. He's come back this season with a better arm and he should be big for us as well."
SFA will be led in the lineup by preseason second-teamers Trevino and Croft. Trevino has had an outstanding preseason on the heels of a solid 2007 that saw him earn honorable mention All-SLC honors last season. Croft is set to continue catching duties after last season saw him crank 11 home runs from the No. 9 slot in the lineup.
The outfield should be in good hands as well with preseason honorable mention selections Gardner and Crabtree. Gardner was the sparkplug for the Lumberjack offense in 2007, hitting .342 from the leadoff spot while Crabtree looks poised to take over a more significant role in the lineup after he also hit over .300 last season.
The 'Jacks open up the season Feb. 22 in Edinburg, Texas, at the UT-Pan American Tournament against Texas State. They will follow that up with games against UTPA and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi before taking part in the Baylor Tournament the following week.
-SFA-
