SFA To Play Two In Omaha
5/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 12, 2014
Stephen F. Austin (18-32, 9-18 SLC) at Creighton (27-15-1, 12-3 BIG EAST)
Tuesday, May 12 (12:30 p.m.) • Live Stats | Stream
TD Ameritrade Park - Omaha, Neb.
Stephen F. Austin (18-32, 9-18 SLC) at Nebraska-Omaha (26-20, 11-9 SUMMIT)
Tuesday, May 12 (6:00 p.m.) • Live Stats
Fricke Field - Papillion, Neb.
STORY LINES
Opening Pitch
• The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack baseball team will close the regular season with a five-game road swing, beginning with a pair of games in Omaha on Tuesday. SFA will play Creighton at TD Ameritrade Park, host site of the NCAA Men's College World Series, at 12:30 p.m. before busing over to Fricke Field for a 6:00 p.m. tilt with Nebraska-Omaha.
• The `Jacks enter the midweek at 18-32 overall and 9-18 in Southland Conference play. Last week, SFA went 1-2 with Nicholls State to close out its home schedule. The `Jacks, having not played a midweek game last week, have struggled in recent weeks winning just three of their last 20 games.
• SFA will start junior Cameron Gann (5-1) against Creighton's Tommy Strunc (0-2) and freshman Patrick Ledet (0-4) against UNO's Mitch Larson (1-1).
Players of Note
• Heading into the midweek, senior Mackenzie Handel has continued to enjoy a steady season at the plate, leading both the team and Southland Conference in several offensive categories. Handel currently is tied for the league lead in homeruns (10) and tied for second in RBI (42). The native of Chandler, Ariz., ranks third in the conference in both slugging percentage (.533) and walks (34), ranking sixth in total bases (97). Handel also leads the team in batting average (.313), sitting second in hits (57), runs (28), and doubles (10). Handel's homer mark is tied for 26th in the nation.
• Senior Zach Marberry is tied for the SLC lead with 16 doubles, owning a .271/.311/.317 split.
• Sunday's game against Nicholls State served as Senior Day for nine `Jacks - Kevin Bishop, Kyle Cross, Rick Cruz, Mackenzie Handel, Justin Hunsaker, Gevon Jackson, Zach Marberry, Ricardo Sanchez and Brett Thornell. Junior Fabian Arcizo, who missed the 2013 season due to injury, also participated in the ceremony.
• The Bluejays enter the week 27-15-1 overall and 12-3 in BIG EAST play, having won seven of their last eight games, most recently take2-1 series win at St. John's over the weekend. Creighton's Mike Gerber turned in a 3-for-6 performance wit two homeruns and six RBI in the series finale to earn his second BIG EAST Player of the Week Honor. He finished the series 6-for-14 (.429), slugging 1.000 and recoding a .529 on-base percentage, while driving in eight runs and scoring six times. A major factor in the Bluejays' success can be attributed to their defensive play. Creighton, currently second in BIG EAST standings, own a .982 fielding percentage, having committed just 30 errors alongside 1,157 putouts.
Scouting Nebraska-Omaha
• The Mavericks enter the week 26-20 overall and 11-9 in the Summit League, having won four of their last five games. UNO, currently tied with Western Illinois atop the league standings, having six starters hitting over .300 on the season and eight hitting .280 or better. Taylor Clayton leads the Mavericks in batting average (.345), slugging percentage (.619), hits (58), doubles (15), homeruns (9), RBI (44) and total bases (104.), also tied for the lead in triples (2) and hit by pitch (8).
Versus The Opponent
• Tuesday's game with Creighton will mark the second-ever meeting between the two teams, while the game with UNO will be the 13th all-time meeting dating back to 1987. SFA trails Creighton 1-0 after dropping a 9-8 home decision in 2010 in the SFA Lumberjack Classic. The `Jacks, leading the series 7-5, last played UNO in 2013, winning 9-2 as participants in the UTSA Classic.
The Last Time Out
• SFA attempted a ninth inning rally, but could not overcome a 5-0 deficit in a 5-3 loss to Nicholls State on Senior Day at Jaycess Field on Sunday.
Up Next
• The `Jacks will close out the regular season with a three-game series at Houston Baptist spanning May 15-17.
-SFA-
