Stephen F. Austin
Texas Southern
SFA Seeks Fifth Straight Win Tuesday Afternoon when Texas Southern Comes to Town
3/26/2018 3:57:00 PM | Baseball
'Jacks send Trayson Kubo to the mound in first game of four-game home stand
Game Twenty-Four
Stephen F. Austin (8-15) vs. Texas Southern (9-15)
Tuesday, March 27 | 1:00 p.m. | Jaycees Field (1,000) | Nacogdoches, Texas
Live Stats | Watch | Weather Forecast
Pitching Matchup | RHP Trayson Kubo (0-1, 13.50 ERA) vs. RHP Chris Suarez (0-1, 7.20 ERA)
LEADOFF HITS
• Fresh off of a three-game Southland Conference sweep at Abilene Christian and winners of four in a row, the Stephen F. Austin baseball team returns home to Jaycees Field where it begins a four-game home stand Tuesday afternoon with a non-conference showdown against Texas Southern at 1:00 p.m.
• Junior right-hander Trayson Kubo will make the start on the pitching rubber for the 'Jacks Tuesday evening. It's Kubo's first start in an SFA uniform.
• During their current win streak, the 'Jacks have shifted their offense into overdrive. In each of its last four games, SFA has plated at least 11 runs and has scored a total of 54 runs in that span. Those 54 runs represent nearly one-third (32.9-percent) of SFA's total offensive output (164 runs) in the 2018 campaign and in seven of the team's eight wins it has pushed 10 or more runs across home plate.
• In all, the 'Jacks racked up 40 runs on 46 hits during their three-game Southland Conference sweep of Abilene Christian last weekend. Those 40 runs represent the third-highest total in a three game series in program history and interestingly enough each of the top three totals have come in road series. Last season in San Antonio, SFA racked up 62 runs during its three-game sweep of Southland Conference foe Incarnate Word and in 2011 the 'Jacks totaled 47 in a three-game league sweep at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
• Thanks to their high-scoring weekend, the 'Jacks moved up to the top of the Southland Conference and currently rank 39th nationally with 164 total runs. Other areas in which SFA ranks among the top five in the Southland include slugging percentage (third, .427), RBI (first, 145), doubles (third, 46), home runs (second, 21) and walks (first, 134).
• Not only did junior Nick Daley enjoy a highly productive week at the plate by hitting .400/.520/.600 with two RBI and eight runs scores through the 'Jacks' five-game stretch, he showed off his speed on the base paths as well. Daley went a perfect 6-for-6 in stolen bases, upping his 2018 stolen base total to 12 in the process. Those 12 swiped bags are the second-most in the Southland Conference and the 24th most in all of NCAA Division I baseball.
• Daley was one of five SFA regulars who batted .400 or better through the team's five-game stretch last week. Junior catcher Jarrod Martin led that group, tearing the cover off the ball with an impressive slash line of .615/.667/1.000. Huber was one of six 'Jacks who finished with eight hits and led the squad with eight runs scored to go along with seven RBI during the week.
• Six 'Jacks have hit safely in four or more straight games and leading that group is Daley who has registered at least one hit in each of the 'Jacks' last five tilts.
• Third baseman and junior Jake Georgiades has rocketed to the top of SFA's batting average leaderboard. The College Station, Texas, product produced SFA's only four-hit game of the season thus far in the team's 13-6 Saturday afternoon win at Abilene Christian and is currently batting .364/.479/.418 through 19 games. His on-base percentage is the third-highest in the Southland.
• Even though his batting average took a slight hit through the 'Jacks' five-game stretch last week, freshman Jared Martin continues to lead SFA in many of the squad's offensive categories. The Katy, Texas, product drove in a series-high seven runs in the 'Jacks' sweep of Abilene Christian and added three more doubles during that series to up his Southland Conference-leading two-bagger total to 11.
• Martin's 11 doubles represent the 12th-most in the nation as of this writing and the Katy, Texas, product ranks fourth in the Southland in slugging percentage (.629) and fifth in the league in on-base percentage (.464). He's one of just two players in the league - Northwestern State's David Fry is the other - who ranks among the top five players in both slugging percentage and on-base percentage.
• Bullpen specialists and juniors Jesus Gamez and Austin Hearn continue to boast the two lowest ERAs on the 'Jacks' pitching staff. Through 18 innings of work, Hearn has fanned 15 and given up just 17 hits and four runs to post a staff-low ERA of 2.00. Gamez, meanwhile, has racked up 16 strikeouts and is holding opposing batters to an average of .122 in 13.1 innings of work. Gamez's ERA of 2.70 is the second-lowest on the team.
SERIES HISTORY
SFA vs. Texas Southern | 8-0 (1.000)
Streak | SFA won eight
In Nacogdoches, Texas | 6-0 (1.000)
Streak | SFA won six
In Houston, Texas | 2-0 (1.000)
Streak | SFA won two
Last Game | at SFA 9, Texas Southern 4 (March 6, 2018)
SFA Runs/Per Game | 78/9.8
TSU Runs/Per Game | 20/2.5
Last TSU Win | n/a
Last SFA Win | March 6, 2018 (9-4)
SCOUTING TEXAS SOUTHERN | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Tuesday afternoon's matchup with SFA will be the second and final one of the season for Texas Southern who comes to Nacgodoches after taking two out of three against SWAC adversary Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Houston, Texas, last weekend.
• Winners of six of their last eight games, the Tigers have been relying on steady offensive production from Kamren Dukes, Gaudencio Lucca and Christian Sanchez to get the job done. Dukes' batting average of .375 represents the team's highest and he completes his potent slash line with a .464 on-base percentage and a .531 slugging percentage that's the third-highest on the squad.
• Dukes' 36 hits and 20 runs scored represent both team-leading and SWAC-leading totals.
• Lucca is the SWAC's leader in terms of on-base percentage (.490) while his slash line of .363/.490/.638 included the Tigers' best slugging percentage. Lucca's 19 RBI lead Texas Southern and his six home runs are the second-most on the team behind only Sanchez who has clubbed eight - the most in the SWAC.
COMING UP NEXT
• For their final action in the month of March, the 'Jacks end a four-game home stand by playing host to Southland Conference adversary Incarnate Word. That three-game series is set to begin Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m., at Jaycees Field with game two scheduled for the same time Friday evening. The 'Jacks and Cardinals wrap up their set Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
-SFA-
