'Jacks Journey to Nicholls for Final Southland Road Series of 2019

Friday, May 10

Thibodaux, La.

6:00 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

Nicholls

Tickets

'Jacks Journey to Nicholls for Final Southland Road Series of 2019

5/9/2019 11:19:00 AM | Baseball

SFA sits in fifth place in Southland standings, leads ninth-place Colonels by two games

By: Charlie Hurley | Director of Athletic Media Relations

LEADOFF HITS
• Hoping to solidify a berth in the Southland Conference Tournament after missing out on the postseason in 2018, the SFA baseball team travels southeast for its final Southland Conference road series of the 2019 campaign. Thibodaux, La., is the 'Jacks' destination and it's there that SFA will tangle with Nicholls in a three-game set at Ray E. Didier Field.
• Things are scheduled to get going at 6:00 p.m. Friday night when junior right-hander Alex Palmer gets the ball for the 'Jacks in their series opener.
• There is a good chance the Southland Conference Tournament picture could become a little more clear by the time the weekend comes to an end. The first through eighth-place teams in the league are separated by just 4.5 games and SFA sits in a tie for fifth place in the league standings with Northwestern State.
• SFA trails Southland co-leaders Sam Houston State and Southeastern Louisiana by three games with six league games to go.

SFA TRENDS
• Senior infielder Manny Vasquez ended an 0-for-15 slump at the plate with an infield single in the eighth inning of SFA's non-conference setback at Dallas Baptist Tuesday night. Vasquez ranks fourth in the Southland and 32nd nationally in the category of toughest to strike out as the senior whiffs just once every 12 at-bats.
• Three of the 'Jacks' last nine hits have come off the bat of senior outfielder Nick Daley who went 2-for-3 with a stolen base Tuesday night at Dallas Baptist.
• Five of SFA's 13 hits in its last four games have come courtesy of senior infielder Antonio Lima. In the 'Jacks' three-game Southland series at McNeese last weekend, the Grapevine, Texas, product hit .454 (5-for-11) and scored a run.
• Alex Palmer has not yielded an earned run in his last 14 innings of work. Over his last two outings, the Arlington, Texas, product has amassed 15 of his team-leading 85 strikeouts.

HE'S PRETTY UHSE-FUL
• Freshman outfielder Brandon Uhse has been one of the 'Jacks' best offensive players through his inaugural collegiate campaign.
• The Grand Prairie, Texas, product leads the team in batting average (.290), hits (54) and runs scored (29).
• His 54 hits are the second-most by any Southland Conference freshman this season.

SAVE IT
• A strong bullpen has been a staple of SFA so far this season as the 'Jacks have recorded 17 saves throughout their 21 triumphs so far in 2019. Those 17 saves have helped the 'Jacks match the program record for saves in a season which was originally set 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. Last Tuesday evening 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. In last Saturday's Southland Conference setback at McNeese, he added to his program-leading appearance total by tossing one inning of scoreless relief against the Cowboys. He's up to 100 appearances in an SFA uniform, making him the only Lumberjack pitcher in the history of the program to appear in 100 or more games.
• 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 third in the Southland Conference and ranks 62nd nationally 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 four more saves in 2019 so far. He possesses the team's second-lowest ERA at a mark of 2.45 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 90 games which is the fourth-most by any single player in program history.

APPROACHING 100
• A group of SFA players are approaching the 100-hit mark for their respective careers.
• Junior Josh Campbell has 89 hits in his career and needs 11 more to get to triple digits.
• Senior Jarrod Huber has 77 hits in his career and needs 23 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 84 hits in his career and needs 16 more to get to triple digits.
• Senior Manny Vasquez has 89 hits in his career and needs 11 more to get to triple digits.

SOUTHLAND SHUTOUTS
• Just two other teams in the Southland Conference have racked up more shutout wins than the 'Jacks this season. SFA ranks 60th in the nation in shutout victories with a trio 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.

PALMER POWER
• Junior right-hander Alex Palmer made program history last Friday night in Lake Charles, La., by taking over as SFA's single-season strikeout leader. In his second complete-game effort of the year, Palmer fanned nine and did not allow an earned run against McNeese.
• The Arlington, Texas, product has been SFA's staff ace this season as he leads the team and ranks second in the Southland in complete games (two). Palmer tops the team charts and ranks second in the Southland in games started (12). The junior has also racked up 85 strikeouts through his team-leading 81 innings of work.
• Palmer's 85 punchouts are the most in a single season in program history and the most by a Lumberjack arm since Chase Greening racked up 78 in the 2013 season. He is one of just two SFA pitchers to have amassed 80 or more strikeouts in a single season and he currently ranks second in the Southland and 49th nationally in total strikeouts.
• Following his eight-inning outing against McNeese, Palmer lowered his ERA to 2.78 on the season which stands as the ninth-best in the Southland.

SIX-WIN STOBART
• Junior left-hander Jacob Stobart recently upped his team-leading win total to six games after tossing seven innings of one-run baseball in the 'Jacks' series opener at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday, April 20.
• Stobart's six wins on the hill represent the team lead and are the seventh-most by any Southland Conference pitcher so far this season. Those six wins also help Stobart rank 90th nationally in pitching wins.

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 14 stolen bases this season. That works out to a per-game average of 0.33 which is the fifth-best among all Southland players.
• For his career, Daley has swiped 35 bags in an SFA uniform - the fifth-most in program history.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
• One of just three statistical categories where the 'Jacks rank among the top five in the Southland is in terms of fielding percentage.
• SFA's team mark sits at .974 which is the 68th-best in the nation and the fifth-highest among all Southland squads.

SCOUTING NICHOLLS | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• One of the teams with the most to gain this weekend, Nicholls sits just two games back of SFA for fifth place in the Southland standings. Like SFA, Nicholls has six league games left on its schedule with each one representing an opportunity for the Colonels to work themselves into the Southland Conference Tournament picture.
• Currently sitting in ninth place in the Southland standings, Nicholls is a game back of McNeese for seventh place and will be playing its final three home games of 2019 when it hosts the 'Jacks this weekend.
• Eighteen of the Colonels' 25 wins have come at home and that total includes six of the team's 11 Southland triumphs.
• Thanks for a 3-of-5 showing at the plate, the Colonels' leading hitter Champ Davison upped his season average to .312. He's the only Nicholls regular who is batting over .300 and also ranks tops on the team in slugging percentage.
• A balanced offense is what the Colonels bring to the table as five of the team's regulars have amassed 40 or more hits. Included in that group are Brady Bell (.286/.345/.335) who leads the team with 52 hits, Dane Simon (.282/.404/.356) who is tops on the team in on-base percentage and runs scored (37) and the tandem of Austin France (.260/.369/.347) and Alec Paz (.231/.337/.340) who are tied for the team lead in RBI with 26 apiece.
• It has been the Colonels' pitching, however, that sets them apart from the rest of the league. Nicholls' staff ERA stands at a Southland-leading 3.44 on the year. That's that 16th-highest among all NCAA Division I baseball teams this season.
• Fifteen of the 17 players who have stood on the hill for the Colonels this year possess ERAs of 4.50 or lower and 12 of those 15 are at 3.60 or lower. Friday night starter Trever Kilcrease leads the team with 58 strikeouts while Saturday's projected starter Jacob Bedevian ranks second on the squad with 52.

ON DECK
• Once their eight-game road trip comes to an end this weekend, the 'Jacks return to Texas' oldest town for their final three contests of the regular season. Making the long trek to Nacogdoches is Southland Conference adversary New Orleans who will challenge SFA in the last league series of 2019 for both clubs. Game one of the set is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. Thursday evening from Jaycees Field.

-SFA-