'Jacks Prep For Battle Of The Piney Woods
4/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 30, 2009
vs Sam Houtson State (28-17, 14-10 Southland) - May 1, 3:00 p.m.
vs Sam Houston State (28-17, 14-10 Southland) - May 2, 2:00 p.m.
vs Sam Houston State (28-17, 14-10 Southland) - May 3, 1:00 p.m.
Complete Release in PDF format
Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday: SFA - Erich Lehmann, RHP (5-3, 4.75 ERA, 53.0 IP, 39 K, 8 BB) SHSU - Sean Weatherford, RHP (5-4, 4.15 ERA, 47.2 IP, 43 K, 19 BB)
Saturday: SFA - Jared West, RHP (2-2, 5.36 ERA, 42.0 IP, 31 K, 21 BB) SHSU - Jacob Howard, RHP (4-2, 5.60 ERA, 53.0 IP, 45 K, 26 BB)
Sunday: SFA - Brett Rogers, RHP (2-2, 4.23 ERA, 44.2 IP, 25 K, 12 BB) SHSU - Brent Powers, LHP (2-1, 4.50 ERA, 52.0 IP, 47 K, 22 BB)
THIS WEEKEND SFA concludes a seven-game homestand with a three-game series against East Texas rival Sam Houston State.
AGAINST THE `KATS Sam Houston leads the all-time series with SFA 31-14, but the `Jacks own a three-game edge since 2006. Sam Houston won two of three games over SFA last year in the season-ending series in Huntsville, but the `Jacks had won five of the previous six meetings prior to that.
FOLLOW THE 'JACKS RADIO: Sunday's game can be heard live on KSFA 860 AM with Ben Rikard on the call.
LIVE STATS: Livestats will be available via Gametracker for each game vs the `Kats at www.sfajacks.com
UPDATING THE 'JACKS The `Jacks lept into eighth place in the league standings with a sweep of previously second-place UTA over the weekend. SFA is now 2.5 games clear of the three teams tied in the No. 9 spot in the league and is only a half-game back of Northwestern State for the overall No. 7 seed in the Southland Conference Tournament.
UP NEXT A makeup game with Louisiana Tech is scheduled for May 6 in Ruston, La., after the team's March 12 game was cancelled due to inclement weather. The `Jacks then head to Hammond, La., to take on Southeastern Louisiana who currently sits in sole possessino of second place in the league.
What To Watch For
- Erich Lehmann has won each of his last four starts and is 2-0 since being slid into the Friday starter role. At home he has been even better, opening up the year with 20.2 scoreless innings at Jaycees Field. He currently is 3-0 with a 1.98 ERA in Nacogdoches, striking out 18 and walking only two hitters at home. Jared West has been good at home as well, sporting a 2-0 record in five games and a 1.31 ERA in 20.2 innings.
- Four Lumberjacks will enter the weekend with hit streaks of at least seven games - Zach Gardner (11), Tanner Hines (9), Ryan Priest (9) and Sean Meyers (7). Gardner's is just one game shy of Brian Ferguson's team-high hit streak of 12 games earlier in the year. Gardner's career-high streak stands at 15 games that he set back in 2007, but the school record streak still holds from 2007 as well when Steven Hill hit in 18 consecutive games.
- The weekend will turn the calendar into the season's final month, a month that has seen SFA be pretty solid over the last three seasons. In the month of May since 2006, the Lumberjacks have gone 19-13 overall, and 15-10 in the Southland Conference The team's conference win total has increased every season and if that trend continues, you could be seeing the `Jacks with a mid-level seed in Copus Christi at the league tournament.
- The `Jacks are 6-3 in nine meetings with the Bearkats since bringing baseball back in 2006, but the `Kats have drawn closer and closer in each series since. SFA swept Sam Houston in 2006, and took two of three in 2007 in clinching its first berth in the SLC Tournament with a win in the season's final game. But last year the `Kats finally broke through and won a series, taking two of three from SFA in Huntsville. Oddly enough the schedulemakers decided to change thing up this year, with the previous three series coming on the season's final weekend.
-SFA-
