SFA To Take On Aggies Beginning Tuesday
3/31/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 31, 2008
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - After dropping a pair of games over the weekend to Northwestern State, SFA is back on the road for five straight games beginning with a pair of non-conference games at defending Big 12 Tournament champion Texas A&M beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
The `Jacks (11-13, 1-7 SLC) have not gotten off to the start they envisioned in Southland Conference play, but have taken a few bright spots out of the first three series' of the conference season. Head coach Donnie Watson has gotten better duty out of his bullpen as of late with Jeremy Tamez stepping into the spotlight to shine in consecutive games against Louisiana-Monroe and Northwestern State.
Tamez pitched a perfect 2.1 innings against the Warhawks on Tuesday before entering in Saturday's contest against the Demons to toss another shutout 2.1 innings. Those were the first two appearances of his career, and the Lufkin, Texas, product was rewarded by picking up the victory against ULM.
Jeff Brewer has provided the hot bat as of late for SFA, having upped his batting average from .286 to .351 since March 21. He currently is riding a six-game hit streak, and is hitting .458 against lefties. His 12 stolen bases paces the `Jacks running attack - one that has both the team and Brewer individually ranked second in the SLC in swipes.
The Aggies (21-6, 6-3 Big 12) have won four in a row, including a three-game sweep over the weekend at Kansas. Texas A&M is one of the favorites to take the Big 12 this year after returning the bulk of a team that won the Big 12 Tournament and advance to the Super Regional a year ago.
Power and finesse are featured by this year's Aggie squad, as Dane Carter's bat leads an Aggie offense that is hitting at a .312 clip as a team. Carter currently boasts a .429 average through 27 games, already cranking five home runs along with five home runs.
The Aggies pitching staff will feature a pair of right-handed starters against the Lumberjacks, as Clayton Ehlert and Shane Minks will go for a staff that sports a 3.33 team ERA.
After concluding the series, SFA will hit the road once again beginning a three-game road series at Central Arkansas on Friday.
Projected pitching matchups vs. Texas A&M:
Tuesday
SFA: Erich Lehmann (RHP) 1-2, 4.50 ERA, 40.0 IP, 31K, 7BB
A&M: Clayton Ehlert (RHP) 2-2, 3.20 ERA, 19.2 IP, 12K, 5BB
Wednesday
SFA: Kevin Thomas (RHP) 2-3, 7.12 ERA, 24.0 IP, 26K, 20BB
A&M: Shane Minks (RHP) 4-0, 2.53 ERA, 21.1 IP, 19K, 10BB
-SFA-
