Vasquez's Homer Enough as SFA Ties Best Southland Start with 1-0 Win over Houston Baptist

Sunday, March 17

Nacogdoches, Texas

1:00 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

11-10, 0

Houston Baptist

5-14, 0

Houston Baptist

Stephen F. Austin

Photo by: SFA Athletics

Vasquez's Homer Enough as SFA Ties Best Southland Start with 1-0 Win over Houston Baptist

3/17/2019 4:20:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

'Jacks sit atop Southland standings through first two weeks of league play

By: Charlie Hurley | Director of Athletic Media Relations

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - All it took for the SFA baseball team to match its best start to Southland Conference play in program history was one swing of the bat and another strong showing on the hill.

Manny Vasquez blasted a solo home run in the home half of the second inning, giving Jacob Stobart, Jesus Gamez and Jeremy Rodriguez all the offense they needed to work with on the mound in the 'Jacks' 1-0 victory over Houston Baptist Sunday afternoon at Jaycees Field.

Prior to 2019, the last time an SFA baseball team started the season with six consecutive Southland Conference wins came in 2011 when current Kansas City Royal Hunter Dozier was one of the best bats in the 'Jacks lineup and current assistant coach Mike Haynes was patrolling the infield.

Fast forward eight years and SFA is now the only Southland squad without a loss in league play through the first two weeks of the conference season after its second-straight sweep.

SCORING SUMMARY
B2 | The only offense through the entirety of the game came off the bat of Vasquez. The senior got a great swing on an 0-1 offering from Houston Baptist starter Kyle Gruller and launched his third homer of the season out beyond the fence in left field to put the hosts ahead 1-0.

AT THE DISH
• Vasquez was one of two Lumberjacks who finished with a multi-hit afternoon. In addition to Vasquez's 2-for-3 outing, Nick Daley also struck for multiple base knocks by going 2-for-4.
• Vasquez extended his team-leading hitting streak to six games with his strong outing at the plate.
• Hayden Baker and Trent Franson were the only two Houston Baptist players who recorded hits as they each went 1-for-4.
• The Huskies managed just six total baserunners for the game and stranded two on the base paths in both the first and ninth innings.

ON THE HILL
• After watching Houston Baptist strike for one of its two hits on the first pitch he threw, Jacob Stobart hit Chase Talbot to put runners on first and second with nobody out. That was the only trouble the junior ran into, however as he escaped the first without letting up a run. From there, the left-hander allowed only one more baserunner during his six-inning outing and improved to 3-0.
• Jesus Gamez tossed a scoreless seventh before giving way to Jeremy Rodriguez who went on to earn his team-leading fifth save of the season. Rodriguez struck out a pair during his two-inning outing and stranded a pair of runners on the corners to end the game.
• Gruller (0-2) suffered the tough-luck loss despite a fine outing on the hill. Houston Baptist's starter gave up just a single run on six hits and a walk while striking out eight.

ON DECK
• With their five-game home stand in the books, the 'Jacks head out on the road for four consecutive contests. That stretch starts Tuesday afternoon when SFA travels to Prairie View A&M for a 3:00 p.m. non-conference matchup.

CARDENAS COMMENTS
On the job SFA's pitching staff has done in Southland Conference play | "To me it's committing to what coach [Bo] Martino has been teaching our staff which is trying to get ahead in counts, trying to throw first-pitch strikes, throwing secondary pitches for strikes and minimizing what the opposing offense can do and not have any self-inflicted wounds as far as walks. If you continually have to make an offense generate something against you, our defense is pretty good. It's at least good enough to stop the tide of a potential big inning.
On Houston Baptist's aggressiveness at the plate | "We knew they were going to ambush first-pitch fastballs. Any offense that's struggling tells their team not to wait around for pitches so we knew that was going to be an issue early on. We saw that and Jacob Stobart made a good adjustment to not throw anything over the fat part of the plate. Instead he used the corners and went down in the zone a lot and it really worked out to his benefit today.
On doing more with minimal offense | "Houston Baptist's Kyle Gruller is one of the best arms we have faced all year long. He did a great job of mixing things up, starting with his fastball which had a lot of run to it. I just think he kept us off-balance and our hitters did the best they could in trying to grind out at-bats. There were times where we could not capitalize on opportunities but after that you just tip your cap to the other team for the job they did.
On SFA's 6-0 start to Southland play | "The big thing for us is these guys are really dedicated to what we do. They do a good job of showing up every day and getting themselves prepared. The last team was just that good as well because they did a good job of coming to work, preparing and then rising to the occasion. In that aspect, we have a very similar group.
On the mentality moving forward | "We're just going to keep plugging along and take each game for what it's worth. You can't get too high or too low because we have experienced some lows and now we're experiencing a high. The main thing for us is just going to continue to be how we prepare for each new challenge."

-SFA-