Stephen F. Austin
UTSA
'Jacks Embark on Journey to the Alamo City for Midweek Battle at UTSA
4/9/2018 5:13:00 PM | Baseball
SFA goes in search of first victory over Roadrunners since 2012
Game Thirty-Two
Stephen F. Austin (11-20) at UTSA (16-13)
Tuesday, April 10 | 6:00 p.m. | Roadrunner Field (800) | San Antonio, Texas
Live Stats | Watch (Facebook Live) | Weather Forecast
Pitching Matchup | RHP Cole Ridgely (0-3, 10.90 ERA) vs. RHP Nathan Alexander (0-0, 16.20 ERA)
LEADOFF HITS
• Tuesday evening in the Alamo City, the Stephen F. Austin baseball team goes in search of its fourth consecutive non-conference when the 'Jacks match up against UTSA at 6:00 p.m. from Roadrunner Field.
• After using 13 of their 17 pitchers during a Sunday Southland Conference doubleheader at Northwestern State, the 'Jacks will turn to senior right-hander Cole Ridgely to start the game. The Marble Falls, Texas, product is making his first appearance on the mound since March 30 against Incarnate Word and has struck out 14 batters in his 14 appearances this season.
• Once Tuesday night's game begins the 'Jacks will be searching for their first win over UTSA since posting a 4-3, 11-inning triumph over the Roadrunners at Jaycees Field on March 24, 2012. SFA has not defeated the Roadrunners in San Antonio since April 10, 2010 when the 'Jacks posted a 13-9 triumph over their adversaries from the Alamo City.
• Frisco, Texas, product and freshman outfielder Jared Martin continues to lead the 'Jacks in multiple offensive categories including hits (38), runs (28), RBI (27), slugging percentage (.538) and doubles (12). Martin's 12 doubles are tied for the most among NCAA Division I freshmen this season and are also the 37th-most by any DI player in the land.
• Martin has reached base safely in 30 of the 'Jacks' 31 games so far this season and that includes each of the last 29 games. His 29-straight games on base is the best streak on the team and he has been held without a hit in just four of the 'Jacks' 31 games this season, too.
• First baseman Josh Evans surpassed Martin as the SFA player with the most multi-hit games over the 'Jacks' three-game Southland Conference series at Northwestern State this past weekend. The senior out of Ponca City, Okla., has a team-best 10 multi-hit games to his credit including a four-hit performance in SFA's 6-5, 15-inning victory over the Demons in the series finale Sunday night.
• Evans' six home runs are the second most among all Southland Conference players and he needs two more long balls to break into the top-ten home run hitters in the history of Lumberjack baseball. Two more would give him 18 and tie him with Kevin Crabtree for the 10th-most all-time.
• Martin and Evans are two of the four SFA players who have an on-base percentage of .400 or higher. Senior Eric DeJesus leads the 'Jacks in on-base percentage with a mark of .442 while junior Jake Georgiades isn't far behind with hit figure of .441. Martin (.424) and Evans (.403) rank third and fourth respectively.
• Junior Nick Daley is second in the Southland Conference with 16 stolen bases this season and leads the 13-team league in stolen bases per game (0.52). A threat at the plate as well, Daley's 31 hits are the third-most on the team behind Martin (38) and Evans (32).
• SFA ranks among the top three teams in the Southland Conference in a total of four offensive categories. The 'Jacks are second in walks (158), and third in slugging percentage (.401), home runs (24) and doubles (58).
• On the pitcher's mound, freshman Dru Dziedzic is the 'Jacks' leader in strikeouts (25) while Trevor Kiminski leads the team in innings pitched (36). Jesus Gamez (3.20 ERA) and Austin Hearn (3.42 ERA) possess the two lowest ERAs on the team and are tied with Cody Adams (7.78 ERA) for the most appearances (17) on the team this season.
ONE FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS
• SFA's 15-inning win over Northwestern State Sunday night was the third-longest game in the history of Lumberjack baseball.
• The game was the longest game in Johnny Cardenas' tenure as the 'Jacks head coach.
• The only two games that went longer than Sunday night's came during the 1990 season. SFA outlasted Lamar 6-5 in 16 innings that season and also suffered a 4-3 setback to UT-Pan American (now UTRGV) in 19 innings.
• Nick Daley, Josh Evans, Jake Georgiades and Luis Santiago each finished with seven at-bats in the game, tying them for the second-most in a single game in program history.
SERIES HISTORY vs. UTSA
Record vs. UTSA | 14-26 (.350)
Streak | UTSA won five
In Nacogdoches, Texas | 12-14 (.462)
Streak | UTSA won one
In San Antonio, Texas | 3-16 (.158)
Streak | UTSA won five
Last game | at UTSA 9, SFA 5 (February 26, 2017)
SFA runs/per game | 182/4.5
UTSA runs/per game | 266/6.7
Last UTSA win | February 26, 2017 (9-5)
Last SFA win | March 24, 2012 (4-3, 11 inn.)
Cardenas vs. UTSA | 8-9 (.471)
SCOUTING UTSA | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• After starting their five-game home stand with a Conference USA series loss to 22nd-ranked Louisiana Tech over the weekend, the Roadrunners have a chance to extend their winning streak over non-conference opponents to four games when the 'Jacks come to the Alamo City Tuesday evening.
• UTSA's pair of losses against the nationally-ranked Bulldogs last weekend are two of the three the Roadrunners have suffered in their last 10 outings. Through the 10-game stretch, UTSA has outscored the opposition 65-49 which works out to a run differential of +16. Against Southland Conference opposition so far this season, the Roadrunners are 4-0 and have outscored Southland foes 26-10.
• The Roadrunners' offense comes primarily from four sources - Bryan Arias, Ben Brookover, Trent Bowles and Tony Beam. Three of the four individuals in that group have driven in 20 or more runs with the exception being Arias who has plated 19 runs while leading the team in batting average (.317) and on-base percentage (.397).
• Brookover leads UTSA with 23 runs driven in and is batting .300/.371/.464 but a good portion of the Roadrunners' power at the plates comes from Bowles. He has started 28 of the team's 29 games and has driven in 20 runs on the strength of 12 doubles and five home runs - both of which are team-leading figures.
• Bowles' 12 doubles represent the second-highest total by any Conference USA player and has helped him post a slash line of .290/.358/.542 which includes the team's best slugging percentage. Beam may not have as high of a batting averages as his teammates, as evident by his .234/.280/.330 slash line, but his 20 RBI are tied for second-most among the Roadrunners' ranks.
• While the Roadrunners won't send any member of their three-man weekend rotation to the hill Tuesday night, they do have a vast collection of reliable relief arms who can get the job done. Projected starter Nathan Alexander has tossed only 1.2 frames in two appearances but Derek Craft leads the Roadrunner's bullpen brigade with a 2-1 record as well as an ERA of 1.47 in 12 appearances.
• More often-used members of UTSA's bullpen include Bradley Griggs (0-1, 2.04 ERA in 11 appearances) as well as Kyrell Miller (2-1, 3.38 ERA in 11 appearances). Those two have helped the Roadrunners' pitching staff boast a collective ERA of 3.85 which is the fifth-lowest in Conference USA.
COMING UP NEXT
• The Battle of the Piney Woods shifts to the baseball diamond as the 'Jacks travel south to Huntsville, Texas, for a three-game Southland Conference series with longtime rival Sam Houston State. Don Sanders Stadium will serve as the site of the three-game set which is set to begin at 6:00 p.m. Friday evening before continuing at 3:00 p.m. Saturday and concluding with a 1:00 p.m. game Sunday afternoon.
-SFA-
