Stephen F. Austin
Texas State
Former Southland Conference Rivals Clash in San Marcos as 'Jacks Battle Texas State
3/1/2018 5:23:00 PM | Baseball
SFA and Texas State do battle in a three-game series - the first meetings between the two programs since 2012
Game Eight
Stephen F. Austin (0-7) at Texas State (3-4)
Friday, March 2 | 4:00 p.m. | Bobcat Ballpark (2,500) | San Marcos, Texas | Weather Forecast
Live Stats | Watch | Listen
Pitching Matchup | RHP Cole Ridgely (0-1, 4.70 ERA) vs. RHP Nicholas Fraze (1-1, 1.46 ERA)
Game Nine
Stephen F. Austin (0-7) at Texas State (3-4)
Saturday, March 3 | 4:00 p.m. | Bobcat Ballpark (2,500) | San Marcos, Texas | Weather Forecast
Live Stats | Watch | Listen
Pitching Matchup | RHP Trevor Kiminski (0-1, 6.00 ERA) vs. RHP Connor Reich (1-0, 1.38 ERA)
Game Ten
Stephen F. Austin (0-7) at Texas State (3-4)
Sunday, March 3 | 1:00 p.m. | Bobcat Ballpark (2,500) | San Marcos, Texas | Weather Forecast
Live Stats | Watch | Listen
Pitching Matchup | TBA vs. TBA
SFA Series Notes | Texas State Series Notes
LEADOFF HITS
• Two former Southland Conference adversaries meet up with one another for the first time in almost six years as the Stephen F. Austin baseball team heads to San Marcos, Texas, in the opeing weekend of March for a three-game, non-conference set with in-state rival Texas State.
• When the 'Jacks begin their three-game series series with the Bobcats, they will be looking for their first victory of the 2018 campaign. SFA has dropped nine-straight games dating back to last season making them one of five NCAA Division I baseball teams who are on a similar nine-game skid. Farleigh-Dickinson (12 games), Georgetown (13 games), Western Illinois (15 games) and Saint Peter's (38 games) are the only four teams around the nation that are in the midst of a longer losing streak than the 'Jacks.
• Five of the 'Jacks' setbacks this season have come by two runs or less including their last two at UT Arlington earlier in the week. SFA's 10-9, 10-inning loss to the Mavericks on Monday sewed up the first winless month of February in the history of SFA baseball.
• Through the first seven games of his collegiate career, outfielder Jared Martin has stepped up and become the 'Jacks best hitter as well as one of the nation's best as well. Hailing from Frisco, Texas, Martin leads SFA in batting average (.412) and slugging percentage (.821) while his five doubles are the most in the Southland Conference and the 11th-most in all of NCAA Division I baseball. Both his batting average (third) and slugging percentage (second) rank among the top five in the Southland.
• Monday afternoon in Arlington, senior Trevor Kiminski delivered the longest outing by an SFA starting pitcher this season when he tossed 5.1 innings of six-hit, three-run ball. That start gave a breather to an SFA bullpen that has tossed 32.1 of the 58.1 innings the 'Jacks have played this season.
SERIES HISTORY
RECORD vs. TEXAS STATE | 19-44 (.302)
STREAK | SFA won one
IN NACOGDOCHES | 12-14 (.462)
STREAK | SFA won one
IN SAN MARCOS | 7-26 (.212)
STREAK | SFA won one
AT NEUTRAL SITES | 0-4 (.000)
STREAK | Texas State won four
LAST GAME | at Texas State 7, SFA 9 (5/25/12)
SFA RUNS | PER GAME | 276 | 4.4
TEXAS STATE RUNS | PER GAME | 394 | 6.3
LAST TEXAS STATE WIN | May 23, 2012 • 11-1
LAST SFA WIN | May 25, 2012 • 9-7
CARDENAS vs. TEXAS STATE | 5-12 (.294)
SCOUTING TEXAS STATE | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Selected to finish third in the Sun Belt Conference's west division, the Bobcats haven't been in action since last weekend when they took two out of three against Southland Conference opponent McNeese at Bobcat Ballpark. The only thing that prevented the Bobcats from sweeping the Cowboys was a combined no-hitter by a pair of McNeese pitchers in the series finale Sunday.
• Saturday starter Connor Reich found himself on the receiving end of Sun Belt Conference Community Coffee Pitcher of the Week accolades after shutting down the Big 12's Oklahoma State on Feb. 17. Reich fanned eight Cowboys, gave up just two hits and did not issue a walk in seven innings of work as the Bobcats blasted OSU 10-1.
• As a whole, the Bobcats' pitching staff boasts an ERA of 3.34 through seven games this season. That's the third-lowest in the Sun Belt and the 73rd best in all of NCAA Division I baseball. Texas State's arms are also letting up only 6.39 hits per nine innings - the 15th-best figure in the nation as of this writing.
• Jacob Almendarez represents the Bobcats' best threat at the dish thus far in 2018. The junior is batting .409 with nine hits and one of Texas State's 31 RBI. Dylan Paul (.379/.419/.552) leads the squad in total hits with 11 and is one of three Bobcats who have accumulated a team-best three extra-base hits.
• Derek Scheible (.310/.375/.448) and Jonathan Ortega (.222/.313/.259) have each racked up six RBI for Texas State, helping the Bobcats post a team slash line of .264/.351/.349 so far in 2018.
• Including their series with the 'Jacks, Texas State will have played nine of its first 10 games of the season at home.
POWER AT THE PLATE
• No one player on the 'Jacks' roster has been more responsible for driving in runs than any other as seven players have racked up either four or five RBI. Martin and sophomore Skylar Black are leading the way with five RBI each while five 'Jacks have totaled four.
• A little over one-quarter - 26.9-percent to be precise - of the 'Jacks' hits have been of the extra-base variety, helping SFA boast the fifth-highest team slugging percentage (.384) in the Southland Conference. The 'Jacks' six home runs represent the fourth-highest tally in the 13-team league, too, with Martin's two representing a team-high.
THE .400 CLUB
• Early on in the 2018 season, one other SFA player has joined freshman Jared Martin as a .400 hitter - sophomore Josh Campbell.
• SFA's second-year infielder ranks seventh in the Southland with a batting average of .412 and ranks third in the 13-team league in on-base percentage with a mark of .545. Between Campbell and Martin, 19 of the 'Jacks' 63 hits are represented as are three of the squad's six homers.
COMING UP NEXT
• After spending almost one full month on the road, the 'Jacks make their 2018 Jaycees Field debut Tuesday evening by hosting SWAC foe Texas Southern. First pitch has been set for 6:30 p.m.
-SFA-
