SFA Squares Off with Central Arkansas on Day Two of Southland Conference Tournament

Thursday, May 23

Sugar Land, Texas

4:00 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

#2 Central Arkansas

Tickets

Photo by: SFA Athletics

SFA Squares Off with Central Arkansas on Day Two of Southland Conference Tournament

5/22/2019 11:51:00 PM | Baseball

'Jacks and Bears meet in Southland Conference Tournament for fourth time

By: Charlie Hurley | Director of Athletic Media Relations

LEADOFF HITS
• Fresh off of its first Southland Conference Tournament victory in three years, the sixth-seeded SFA baseball team continues its run in the league tournament Thursday afternoon when the 'Jacks face off against second-seeded Central Arkansas at 4:00 p.m. from Constellation Field.
• ESPN+ and the ESPN app will carry each and every game of the Southland Conference Tournament - including Thursday afternoon's meeting between the 'Jacks and Bears. On the call for the fourth Southland Conference Tournament meeting between the two squads will be Gerald Sanchez and Chase Hernandez.
• In their Southland Conference Tournament opener, the 'Jacks sprung an upset of third-seeded Southeastern Louisiana behind junior right-hander Alex Palmer's fourth consecutive complete game effort. Dubbed "The Mane Event," Palmer allowed just three hits to the Lions while striking out 10 to out-duel 2019 Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year Corey Gaconi.
• Palmer, the 2019 Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year, was backed by a nine-hit attack by the 'Jacks' offense. Eight of those nine hits were accumulated by SFA's six-through-nine hole hitters with senior Jake Georgiades starting a three-run SFA sixth by launching a solo homer - his second of the year.
• SFA moved to 2-1 against Southeastern Louisiana in Southland Conference Tournament action while posting its second shutout win in league tournament action. The 'Jacks' first Southland Conference Tournament shutout came on Saturday, May, 28, when the SFA trio of Austin Hearn, Patrick Ledet and Eric Polivka joined forces to help lead the 'Jacks to a 1-0 win over Sam Houston State.

SFA TRENDS
• Junior Jordan Monacy extended his team-leading hitting streak to three games with a 2-for-4 performance against Southeastern Louisiana Wednesday morning. The Magnolia, Texas, product drove in one of the 'Jacks' five runs and has drive in one run in his last three games, too.
• Freshman shortstop Carson Clowers matched his season high with a pair of hits in Wednesday's win. The shortstop also drove in a run in SFA's victory.
• Freshman outfielder Brandon Uhse matched his season high by drawing three walks Wednesday morning. The Grand Prairie, Texas, native continues to lead SFA in batting average (.276), hits (58) and on-base percentage (.336).
• Senior infielder Manny Vasquez mashed his team-leading 14th double Wednesday morning and drove in his first postseason run in an SFA uniform. The final year man tops the 'Jacks' charge in doubles, home runs (five) and extra-base hits (19). He (21), Monacy (21) and Sean Moore (25) are the only three SFA players who have driven in 20 or more runs this season.
• Georgiades' home run Wednesday morning was his second of the year and the third of his Lumberjack career.

THE MANE EVENT
• Sporting some flowing locks and a formidable pitching arsenal, junior right-hander Alex Palmer is well on his way to becoming one of the best hurlers to ever put on an SFA uniform.
• Monday afternoon the Arlington, Texas, product became the third SFA player in the last four seasons to earn the title of Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year when he claimed the honor as the league unveiled its 2019 All-Southland Conference Teams and major award winners.
• In addition to his selection as the league's Newcomer of the Year, Palmer also received a spot on the All-Southland Conference First Team. He's the first SFA pitcher in program history to be named a First Team choice by the league.
• Those accolades were extremely well deserved after the numbers he has put up in his first season at an NCAA Division I institution. He has racked up 109 strikeouts through a staff-high 107 innings of work and owns SFA's program records for most strikeouts in a single season.
• In the Southland those 109 punchouts are the most and he's the only Lumberjack arm to record triple-digit strikeouts in a single season in the history of the program. On the national scene, Palmer ranks 33rd in strikeouts, 71st with a season ERA of 2.48, 34th in hits allowed per nine innings (6.15), and 39th in WHIP (1.00).
• Wednesday's Southland Conference Tournament victory over Southeastern Louisiana marked Palmer's fourth-straight complete game outing pushing the right-hander's total to a Southland Conference-leading five. Those five complete games put Palmer into a tie for fourth nationally among all NCAA Division I hurlers.
• When pitching against Southland adversaries, Palmer's numbers were better than his overall ones. Owning a 7-4 showing against league foes, the junior posted an ERA of 1.65 and held opponents to a batting average of just .179 through his 81 2/3 frames of work. Sixty-seven of his 109 strikeouts came in Southland Conference play.

APPROACHING 100
• A group of SFA players are approaching the 100-hit mark for their respective careers.
• Junior Josh Campbell has 92 hits in his career and needs eight more to get to triple digits.
• Senior Jarrod Huber has 79 hits in his career and needs 21 more to get to triple digits.
• Sophomore Jared Martin has 84 hits in his career and needs 16 more to get to triple digits.
• Senior Jake Georgiades has 88 hits in his career and needs 12 more to get to triple digits.
• Senior Manny Vasquez has 92 hits in his career and needs eight more to get to triple digits.

SAVE IT
• A strong bullpen has been a staple of SFA so far this season as the 'Jacks have recorded 18 saves throughout their 24 triumphs so far in 2019. Those 18 saves have helped the 'Jacks establish the program record for saves. The previous high save mark for a single season was 17 which was the number racked up by the 2011 club that won a program-best 37 games.
• A team-leading six of those saves have gone to senior left-hander Tyler Starks who has made 22 appearances out of the 'Jacks bullpen. Two weeks ago the Mesquite, Texas, product notched his sixth and most recent save by tossing the final frame of the 'Jacks' non-conference victory at Arkansas-Pine Bluff. By making a pair of appearances in SFA's series at Nicholls last weekend, the final-year man has 102 in his career and stands alone as the program's leader in that statistical category.
• On SFA's all-time saves charts, Starks sits in third place with 19 for his career. He will tie the program record by recording two more saves.
• Five more of SFA's saves have been credited to junior right-hander Jeremy Rodriguez who ranks among the leaders in both the Southland and the nation with 24 total appearances out of the 'Jacks' bullpen. That appearance number will stay stuck on 24, unfortunately, as Rodriguez suffered a season-ending injury on Saturday, April 28, against Northwestern State.
• Senior righty Jesus Gamez has locked down five more saves in 2019 so far. He possesses the team's fourth-lowest ERA at a mark of 3.15 on the year.
• Austin Roth and Cully Mangus have each notched one save for the 'Jacks as well.
• Though he has not yet recorded a save in 2019, senior Austin Hearn has been steadily moving up SFA's all-time appearances chart since the year began. Hearn has pitched in 93 games which is the third-most by any single player in program history.

SOUTHLAND SHUTOUTS
• Just two other teams in the Southland Conference have racked up more shutout wins than the 'Jacks this season. SFA ranks 66th in the nation in shutout victories with four of them.
• Those three shutout wins have all come in Southland Conference play and have helped SFA tie the program mark for the highest number of shutout wins in conference play in a single season.

DALEY DOSE
• In his final season as a collegiate baseball player, senior outfielder Nick Daley has shown some speed that gives him an edge in the outfield and on the base paths.
• The Gilbert, Ariz., native leads the team with 16 stolen bases this season. That works out to a per-game average of 0.33 which is the sixth-best among all Southland players.
• For his career, Daley has swiped 37 bags in an SFA uniform - a total that's tied for fourth-most in program history.

BITTEN BY THE INJURY BUG
• A pair of injuries have left the 'Jacks somewhat shorthanded over the last few weeks.
• Sophomore outfielder Jared Martin has been out since the month of April dealing with a broken hand while junior relief arm Jeremy Rodriguez will miss the remainder of the season after suffering an arm injury in SFA's home game against Northwestern State on Sunday, April 28.

SCOUTING CENTRAL ARKANSAS | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Arguably the best pitching staff in the Southland Conference sports Central Arkansas colors and the Bears will send freshman left-hander Noah Cameron out to the hill to try and pick up his second win of the year over the 'Jacks Thursday afternoon.
• Cameron ranks second on the team with 87 strikeouts and is one of two UCA arms who have piled up 80 or more punchouts on the season.
• Six of the Bears' 10 saves have been picked up by Gavin Stone who owns a 1.86 ERA through 18 games. In 38 2/3 frames, Stone has fanned 53 while letting up just 11 walks.
• One of the Bears' top threat on offense is Josh Ragan who leads the squad in batting average (.289), slugging percentage (.447), hits (57), doubles (17), home runs (four) and extra-base hits (22).
• Ragan (31) is second only to Beau Orlando (34) on the team in terms of RBI. Tyler Smith (.249/.380/.389) has drive in 30 runs to round out the group of three Bears who have pushed 30+ runs across home plate in 2019.
• The Bears took two out of three against SFA in Conway, Ark., in late March. Those wins came in games two and three of the series and halted the 'Jacks' seven-game Southland Conference winning streak to begin the season.

ON DECK
• No matter the result in the tilt between the 'Jacks and Bears, SFA will live to play on Friday. Should the 'Jacks lose, they would face a quick turnaround and play in Friday's 9:00 a.m. game against the winner of the Southeastern Louisiana/Northwestern State elimination game. With a win, the 'Jacks would play at 4:00 p.m. Friday against the victor in the elimination game clash between the Lions and Demons.

-SFA-