Stephen F. Austin
Arkansas State
SFA Opens 2019 Season at Home with Three-Game Set against Arkansas State
2/14/2019 2:00:00 PM | Baseball
'Jacks and Red Wolves meet for first time since 1983
Game One
SFA (0-0) vs. Arkansas State (0-0)
Friday, Feb. 15 | 6:30 p.m. | Jaycees Field (1,000) | Nacogdoches, Texas
Watch (Facebook Live) | Live Stats | Weather Forecast
Pitching Matchup | RHP Alex Palmer (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Zach Johnson (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Game Two
SFA vs. Arkansas State
Saturday, Feb. 16 | 2:00 p.m. | Jaycees Field (1,000) | Nacogdoches, Texas
Watch (Facebook Live) | Live Stats | Weather Forecast
Pitching Matchup | RHP Joseph Sgambelluri (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. LHP Chandler Coates (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Game Three
SFA vs. Arkansas State
Sunday, Feb. 17 | 1:00 p.m. | Jaycees Field (1,000) | Nacogdoches, Texas
Watch (Facebook Live) | Live Stats | Weather Forecast
Pitching Matchup | LHP Jaxon Covington vs. RHP Nate Alberius (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
LEADOFF HITS
• For the third time in the past five seasons, the SFA baseball team is set to begin a season under the lights at Jaycees Field as the 'Jacks play host to Sun Belt adversary Arkansas State in a three-game set that represents the inaugural 2019 series for both squads.
• In the NCAA Division I history of the 'Jacks' baseball program, SFA has posted a 9-16 (.360) record in season-opening games. Of those nine victories, four have come in the last five seasons as the 'Jacks have dropped just two season openers since the 2013 campaign.
• Friday night marks the start of Johnny Cardenas' 11th season as the 'Jacks' head coach. In Cardenas' tenure, SFA has gone 6-4 (.600) in season openers.
SCOUTING ARKANSAS STATE | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | 2018 STATISTICS
• Picked for a fifth-place West Division finish in the 2019 Sun Belt Conference preseason poll, the Red Wolves come to Texas' oldest town for the first time armed with one of the nation's best batters in senior first baseman Kyle McDonald.
• McDonald was tabbed the Sun Belt Conference Preseason Player of the Year after putting up an impressive slash line of .346/.464/.665. In 2018, he amassed 66 hits - 15 of which were long balls - and drove in a team-high 50 runs.
• Of the Red Wolves' three weekend starters, Nate Alberius is the only one who played a major part in the team's pitching plans one season ago. Projected to start Sunday, Alberius went 6-4 and put up a 4.43 ERA through a team-leading 81 1/3 innings of work.
• As a team, Arkansas State batted .253/.358/.388 last season while the Red Wolves' pitching staff finished the year with an ERA of 6.01.
SERIES HISTORY
• Arkansas State leads the all-time series between the two programs 1-0.
• SFA and Arkansas State are matching up against one another on the diamond for the first time 36 years.
• The only other meeting between the 'Jacks and Red Wolves took place in 1983 when Arkansas State posted a 16-13 victory over SFA in the Palm Valley Tournament in Edinburg, Texas.
• The squads were scheduled to duke it out at the Lamar Invitational in the 2012 season, but that game was rained out.
GEORGIE BOY
• Back for the 'Jacks is senior third baseman Jake Georgiades who led the team with a batting average of .333 last season. An All-Southland Conference Third Team pick in 2018, the College Station, Texas, product was chosen as a Preseason All-Southland Conference First Team squad member in early February.
• Last season, Georgiades batted .333/.423/.395 and finished with 23 RBI, making him one of eight players on the squad with 20 or more RBI.
MAN, OH MANNY!
• Another important piece that's back for SFA is senior shortstop Manny Vasquez who was selected as a Preseason All-Southland Conference Second Team pick.
• SFA's everyday shortstop last season, the Naco, Ariz., product batted .285/.367/.424 with 23 RBI and 27 runs scored. =
WHAT ELSE IS BACK?
• SFA retains the services of all three of their primary outfielders from a season ago as junior Josh Campbell, senior Nick Daley and sophomore Jared Martin all return.
• Martin excelled at the plate last season and was named a Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Freshman All-American after batting .284/.382/.472. His 18 doubles were the most on the team as were his 25 extra-base hits, 56 hits and 39 runs scored.
• Campbell earned an All-Southland Conference Honorable Mention pick as a utility man last season, but should have solidified a spot for himself in the 'Jacks' outfield. One of two SFA regulars who batted over .300, Campbell put up a slash line of .313/.409/.412 and recorded at least one his in nine of his last 11 games of 2018.
• Josh Evans and Eric DeJesus are the only two members of SFA's regular infield crew who aren't returning. Along with Vasquez and Georgiades, senior Jarrod Huber and junior Skylar Black are back for another season of backstopping for the 'Jacks. Humber batted .279 while Black hit .261 in 2018.
• Filling in at second base will likely be junior Sean Moore or freshman Carson Clowers. First base will likely be manned by either Will Cerny or newcomer Jordan Monacy.
ARMS RACE
• All three of the 'Jacks' weekend starters are newcomers (Alex Palmer, Joseph Sgambelluri and Jaxon Covington), but SFA returns a good deal of familiar faces on its pitching staff.
• Seniors Cody Adams, Seth Campbell, Tony Grabowske, Austin Hearn, Jesus Gamez, Trayson Kubo and Tyler Starks return and bolster the staff with a major veteran presence.
POLL POSITION
• In the Southland Conference Preseason Poll, SFA was tabbed for a 12th-place finish in the 13-team league.
• Sam Houston State was picked to win the league while Southeastern Louisiana and Northwestern State - the league's 2018 NCAA Tournament representative - rounded out the top three teams.
ON DECK
• The first road test for the 'Jacks in 2019 will be a big one as SFA heads southwest to College Station, Texas, for a matchup with Texas A&M. First pitch from Blue Bell Park is set for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday evening and the showdown will be broadcast nationwide on SEC Network+.
-SFA- ?? | With the 2019 season getting underway this week, Coach Cardenas sits down to preview what's ahead for the 'Jack… https://t.co/v07hMKHEbN
