'Jacks Look To Steal Series From Demons
3/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 28, 2008
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The SFA Lumberjacks have won two games in a row and will look to continue those winning ways when Northwestern State invades Nacogdoches for a three-game series beginning today at 3:00 p.m.
Fans can follow the game live via Gametracker at www.sfajacks.com.
The `Jacks evened their record at 11-11 with back-to-back wins over Louisiana-Monroe on Tuesday and Wednesday, but are currently 1-5 in SLC play through two series'. SFA's offense came to life in spurts against the Warhawks, including a nine-run seventh inning in game one of the series that was the biggest single scoring inning for SFA since bringing baseball back in 2006.
Kevin Thomas will open up the series on the bump for the `Jacks, looking to back up a career-long performance last week against Lamar with a another good outing in front of the home crowd. It will be the first time he has gotten a start against his former school after getting in an inning of relief against the Demons a year ago.
Noel Trevino continues to lead the offense in home runs and RBI, but the hot bat as of late belongs to shortstop Jeff Brewer. He has gotten a hit in seven of his last 11 at-bats, including a home run against Lamar and the game-winning RBI double against ULM on Tuesday. He is also hitting .458 against left-handed pitching this year.
Brewer and company will not see a left-handed starter for the Demons, however, and will have to do their damage against three of the top ERAs in the SLC. The duo of Clayton Cooper and Jimmy Heard each sport a 3-0 record with ERAs under 2.25, while third starter Heath Hennigan will enter with a 3.77 clip under his belt.
The Demons have gotten off to a hot start in SLC play, wining five of their first six contests against Texas &M-Corpus Christi and Southeastern Louisiana, but dropped a pair of non-conference games against LSU and Louisiana-Lafayette earlier in the week.
The series should see lots of action on the basepaths as it pits the top two leaders in steals in the SLC with the teams having combined for 100 steals to this point. Overall though, SFA has the statistical edge on the offensive side, but the Demons do bring several legitimate offensive threats such as Mike Jaworski. The senior first baseman leads the Demons with five home runs and 17 RBI while hitting .329 to this point.
After this weekend's action, SFA will have another short turnaround then head to College Station to take on Texas A&M on Tuesday and Wednesday before traveling to Conway, Ark. for a three-game series with Central Arkansas over the weekend.
Projected pitching matchups for SFA vs Northwestern State:
Friday
SFA: Kevin Thomas (RHP) 2-2, 6.14 ERA, 22.0 IP, 3 GS, 26K, 17BB
NW St.: Jimmy Heard (RHP) 3-0, 2.21 ERA, 36.2 IP, 28K, 4BB
Saturday:
SFA: Lance Luetge (LHP) 3-2, 3.00 ERA, 33.0 IP, 15K, 9BB
NW St.: Heath Hennigan (RHP) 1-2, 3.77 ERA, 28.2 IP, 34K, 9BB
Sunday:
SFA: Erich Lehmann (RHP) 1-2, 4.50 ERA, 40.0 IP, 31K, 7BB
NW St.: Clayton Cooper (RHP) 3-0, 2.00 ERA, 36.0 IP, 22K, 8BB
-SFA-
