SFA Visits 14th-Ranked Rice Wednesday
2/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Stephen F. Austin at Rice
Wednesday, Feb. 24 • 4:30 p.m.
Reckling Park • Houston, Texas
Records: SFA (2-6); Rice (5-3)
Live Audio: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: RiceOwls.com
Opening Pitch
Stephen F. Austin gets set for its fifth-straight road game, traveling to Houston for a Wednesday afternoon meeting with 14th-ranked Rice at Reckling Park. Opening pitch against the Owls is set for 4:30 p.m.
Projected Starters
• Jarred Greene, SFA (0-1, 5.40 ERA) vs. TBD, Rice
Scouting The Owls
2015: 5-3 overall, 3-2 home. Ranked #14 this week by Baseball America
Last Series: Defeated Arizona 2-1 in Tucson (8-5, 6-7, 6-4 (10))
Head Coach: Wayne Graham (Texas, 1970). 24th season at Rice (1,044-463, .693)
Synopsis: Rice is coming off a 2-1 series victory against Arizona in Tucson, including a 6-4 10-inning victory in the season finale. Rice opened up the year splitting a four-game series against 10th-ranked Texas at Reckling Park as well as a 5-2 win over Houston Baptist. John Clay Reeves was named the Conference USA Hitter of the Week after going 10-for-18 against Arizona and is batting .406 on the season. Kirby Taylor has been red hot for the Owls to start the year, hitting .552 with six RBIs while John Williamson is batting .471. Leon Byrd leads Rice in RBIs (7) with Ford Stainback adding six.
Series Information
SFA and Rice have met 19 times since the 1984 season with the Owls holding a 14-5 edge in the series, including a four-game winning streak. The Lumberjacks have posted a 1-11 record at Reckling Park with the lone win coming in a 10-4 decision in 1989. Under head coach Johnny Cardenas, SFA is 0-3 against the Owls with the last meeting a 3-2 10-inning loss in 2013.
Last Time Out
The Lumberjacks are looking to put together its first winning streak of the 2015 season coming off an 8-7 win against Louisiana-Monroe Sunday in Monroe, La. The victory gave the `Jacks one win in the three-game series as the Warhawks took game one 5-0 before winning the second 10-3, both of which came as part of a Friday doubleheader. The win over ULM on Sunday snapped a six-game losing streak for SFA, which included losses to Washington State, Missouri State and 23rd-ranked Texas A&M.
Ramos Knocking Them Home
Sophomore Nick Ramos has gotten off to a solid start in 2015, leading the Lumberjacks with seven RBIs on the season. Ramos, who ranks third on the team in batting average (.313), is tied for the SFA lead in both hits (10) and doubles (two). Ramos also leads the `Jacks in total bases with 14 while sitting second in slugging percentage (.438).
Welcome To The Show
One of the bright spots of the young season for SFA has been freshman Hunter Wilson. Appearing in six games with three starts, Wilson leads the team with a .455 batting average and is tops on the `Jacks with a .545 slugging percentage. He has five hits in 11 at bats, including a double and an RBI, scoring a pair of runs.
Swiping Bags
Junior Matthew Dickey continues to be one of the top base stealing threats in the Southland Conference, swiping all six bases he's attempted in 2015. Dickey is tied for the team lead with 10 hits on the year with a pair of doubles and is second in total bases (12) while scoring seven runs on the year to pace the `Jacks.
Looking Ahead
Following the trip to Houston, SFA returns home to open up a three-game weekend series against South Dakota State at Jaycees Field. Game one against the Jackrabbits is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday, followed by a 2 p.m. start Sunday and a 1 p.m. first pitch Sunday afternoon.
-SFA-
