SFA Rides Winning Wave Into Series With Islanders
4/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 11, 2008
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Having won three of its last four games, the Lumberjack baseball team opens up a three-game series on Friday at 3:00 p.m. against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Jaycees Field - a key three-game set in the `Jacks pursuit of a berth in the SLC Tournament.
The `Jacks (14-17 3-8) are coming off a two-game split against UNLV and a pair of wins in last weekend on the road at Central Arkansas. TAMUCC (10-23, 5-7) had lost five in a row before a Tuesday doubleheader sweep of UT-Pan American.
Kevin Crabtree and Justin Roland have been the offensive leaders lately for the `Jacks with Crabtree earning his SLC Hitter of the Week honors on Monday after standout road performances against Texas A&M and Central Arkansas last week, including a two-home run game in the series' final game against UCA. Roland has also been a consistent force as well, currently riding a six-game hit streak with at least one RBI in each of those games since being inserted into the starting lineup while also providing a steadying influence at the hot corner.
Lance Luetge is scheduled to start Friday's opener, followed by freshman Jeremy Tamez on Saturday and a quickly improving Erik Gregersen on Sunday. Tamez has posted a 2.30 ERA in his five appearances, while Gregersen leads the team with 19 strikeouts since March 25.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is right in the hunt for a berth in the SLC Tournament as well and has been playing better since entering SLC play. The Islanders are hitting .280 as a team on the year, but that number jumps up to a respectable .294 in 12 SLC contests. Freshman Trey Hernandez leads the offense with seven home runs and 27 RBI, while Stephen Flora's .395 average is the best of four Islanders hitting above the .300 line.
The SFA offense is facing its second consecutive team that carries an ERA over six, as the Islanders 6.60 ERA is ranked 10th in the SLC out of 12 teams. The Islanders' slated starters enter the series with a combined 6.30 ERA, led by Omar Gutierrez's 4.54 mark and 42 strikeouts in 39.2 innings.
This is a rematch of an early season non-conference meeting in which the Islanders scored three runs in the top half of the ninth inning to steal a win over the `Jacks in the final game of the season-opening Al Ogletree Classic in Edinburg. The Islanders had led the majority of the way behind Guitierrez's five-inning start, but SFA tallied three runs in the bottom of the eighth to take its first lead of the day before giving the lead right back just an inning later.
Friday's game will also be a replay of a near-historic game from last season with Luetge getting his second career start against TAMUCC and will be opposed by Gutierrez for the third consecutive time. Last year those two started the series finale in Corpus Christi and Luetge came just one out away from tossing the program's first-ever no-hit game in an 8-1 SFA win.
Friday's game can be followed via Gametracker at www.sfajacks.com, while Saturday and Sunday's games can also be heard live on KSFA 860 AM or at www.ksfa860.com.
Projected pitching matchups vs. Texas A&M- Corpus Christi:
Friday
SFA: Lance Luetge (LHP) 4-3, 3.33 ERA, 46.0 IP, 22K, 21BB
TAMUC: Omar Gutierrez (RHP) 1-3, 4.54 ERA, 39.2 IP, 42K, 28BB
Saturday
SFA: Jeremy Tamez (RHP) 2-0, 2.30 ERA, 15.2 IP, 6K, 7BB
TAMUCC: Trey Hernandez (RHP) 0-6, 8.66 ERA, 35.1 IP, 15K, 21BB
Sunday
SFA: Erik Gregersen (RHP) 0-1, 5.50 ERA, 36.0 IP, 35K, 18BB
TAMUCC: Roy Ferdin (LHP) 1-5, 5.98 ERA, 40.2 IP, 21K, 7BB
-SFA-
