Stephen F. Austin
Grambling State
SFA Plays Host to Grambling State to Begin Four-Game Home Stand
4/8/2019 5:24:00 PM | Baseball
'Jacks own 11-0 all-time record against Grambling State
Game Thirty-Four
SFA (14-19) vs. Grambling State (14-17)
Tuesday, April 9 | 6:30 p.m. | Jaycees Field (1,000) | Nacogdoches, Texas
Tickets | Watch (Twitter) | Live Stats | Weather Forecast
Pitching matchup | RHP Joseph Sgambelluri (0-3, 8.44 ERA) vs. RHP Kerry Boykins, Jr. (3-1, 8.65 ERA) or Andy Escano (0-3, 9.00 ERA)
LEADOFF HITS
• After an excursion to the west coast, the SFA baseball team faces a short turnaround time as it prepares for a four-game home stand that begins Tuesday evening when the 'Jacks host non-conference combatant Grambling State at 6:30 p.m. from Jaycees Field.
• Tuesday evening's tilt with the Tigers will serve as Panhellenic Night as all of SFA's sororities will be in attendance at the game.
• SFA has never dropped a game to Grambling State. The 'Jacks are 11-0 all-time against the Tigers and have outscored them by a combined 109-28 in those 11 matchups.
• Freshman outfielder Brandon Uhse sits atop the 'Jacks' batting average charts with his team-leading mark of .295. The Grand Prairie, Texas, product is one of two players on the team with 30 or more hits and he leads the squad with a total of 38 base knocks.
• A little less than half of senior infielder Manny Vasquez's 32 hits have gone for extra bases. The Naco, Ariz., product leads the 'Jacks in extra-base hits (14), doubles (10) and home runs (four). His 10 doubles are the fifth-most among all Southland Conference players.
• Tied for Vasquez in terms of home runs, junior outfielder Josh Campbell blasted a pair of long balls in SFA's 14-12 11-inning defeat at 19th-ranked UC Santa Barbara last Saturday afternoon to bring his season total to four. It marked the first time an SFA player had launched two homers in a came since Kyle Thornell did so on April 22, 2016, against Incarnate Word.
• SFA heads into Tuesday evening's tilt with Grambling State hoping to put an end to a four-game losing skid. Four of SFA's last five games have been decided by two or fewer runs and SFA is 1-3 (.250) in those games.
• Junior right-hander Alex Palmer leads the team, ranks second in the Southland Conference and 33rd among all-NCAA Division baseball players with 61 strikeouts. Last Friday afternoon,
Palmer put forth a complete game effort in the 'Jacks' 3-2 setback at 19th-ranked UC Santa Barbara. It was the first complete game by an SFA pitcher since Jarred Greene - affectionately known as the Big Rig - worked all nine innings in a 4-1 SFA triumph at Northwestern State on March 25, 2016.
• Half of the 'Jacks' 14 wins have come at home so far this season and SFA will be looking to add another non-conference win to its ledger. The 'Jacks are 6-15 in non-league tilts thus far in 2019.
SERIES HISTORY | SFA vs. GRAMBLING STATE
Record vs. Grambling State | 11-0 (1.000)
Streak | SFA won 11
In Nacogdoches | 9-0 (1.000)
Streak | SFA won nine
In Grambling, La. | 2-0 (1.000)
Streak | SFA won two
Last Game | at SFA 14, Grambling State 3 (March 21, 2018)
SFA Runs/Per Game | 109/9.9
Grambling State Runs/Per Game | 28/2.5
Last Grambling State Win | none
Last SFA Win | March 21, 2018 (14-3)
SCOUTING GRAMBLING STATE | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• The Tigers' stopover in Nacogdoches represents the last leg of an eight-game stretch of road matches which started with a there-game non-conference set at Abilene Christian on Friday, March 29. Grambling State dropped four of its first five games in that stretch but swept a SWAC doubleheader at Texas Southern Saturday. When they get to Jaycees Field, the Tigers will be going in search of its third three-game winning streak of 2019.
• The best bat in the Tigers' lineup belong to Isaiah Torres who has accumulated a team-leading 40 hits. Torres also leads the team in RBI (23), walks (23), batting average (.364) and on-base percentage (.489).
• Drexler Macaay (.318/.435/.523) leads Grambling State in extra-base hits (12), and home runs (five). That has helped his slugging percentage rise to a team-leading figure of .523 and he ranks second on the team in both hits (23) and RBI (21).
• Grambling State's pitching staff owns an ERA of 6.66 through 258 innings of action. Opponents are hitting .304 off of Tiger pitching while Jason Alvarez leads the team with 46 strikeouts.
• No matter which right-hander the Tigers go with to start Tuesday evening - either Kerry Boykins, Jr., or Andy Escano - both are letting opponents hit .378 against them.
• The Tigers are 5-13 in away games this season.
ON DECK
• Two of the top three teams in the Southland Conference are set to duke it out at Jaycees Field this weekend when the 'Jacks play host to longtime Piney Woods rival Sam Houston State for a three-game set. Game one between the 'Jacks and Bearkats is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday evening featuring the Southland's top two strikeouts artists going at it when SFA junior Alex Palmer opposes Sam Houston State junior Hayden Wesneski.
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