Stephen F. Austin
University of Houston
'Jacks Travel to Houston to Take on the Cougars
3/24/2025 4:00:00 PM | Baseball
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks vs Houston Cougars
Date: Tuesday, March 25th
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Live Stream: ESPN+
Field: Don Sanders Field
All-Time Series: Houston leads 9-2
HOUSTON, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (9-15, 2-7 SLC) travel to Houston to take on the Houston Cougars (13-10, 2-4 Big 12) in a midweek battle.
A Look at the Lumberjacks
The SFA Lumberjacks come into this midweek game at 9-15 overall and 2-7 in the SLC. Last week, the 'Jacks went 2-2, winning their midweek game against ACU and then losing two of three to Tarleton.
Once again, it's Josh Ibe who is leading the offense. Josh had the best week of any Lumberjacks hitter this year, setting an SFA record with three home runs in one game against ACU. The big first baseman/DH went four for five with three home runs, four RBIs, four runs, and a walk. In the next game against Tarleton, Ibe went three for three with a home run, a double, and two RBI. The conference took notice, as he was voted the SLC Hitter of the Week. Ibe continues to mash at the plate, leading the Lumberjacks in multiple different offensive categories. He's first in batting average (.397), OPS (1.465), slugging percentage (.952), on-base percentage (.513), home runs (9), RBI (25), runs (24), hits (25), and total bases (60). Josh is leading the SLC in slugging percentage. He's also second in home runs, fourth in batting average, fifth in on-base percentage, and fifth in total bases. Junior outfielder Cooper Schneider had another great weekend at the plate, hitting .462 against Tarleton with a 1.162 OPS. He also hit his first home run of the year and drove in five runs. On the year, Cooper is hitting .395 with a .936 OPS. He also has a .500 slugging percentage and a .439 on-base percentage. Although Cooper doesn't meet the 75% games played threshold to qualify for the team lead, his batting average, OPS, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage all would rank second to Ibe for the team lead. Junior first baseman Mark Henning continues to be a constant in the 'Jacks lineup. On the year, Mark has a .300 batting average, a .914 OPS, a .471 slugging percentage, and a .443 on-base percentage, all of which rank second to Josh Ibe for the team lead.
On the pitching side for the Lumberjacks, Cody Templeton continues to be a workhorse for Matt Vanderburg's staff. Cody once again had a great game, pitching 6.2 innings while allowing two runs and seven hits. On the year, Templeton is eighth in the conference with a 2.41 ERA and third in WHIP (0.96). He's also third in the SLC with a 5.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio while leading the conference in walks allowed per nine innings (1.32). Templeton is slated to pitch Friday against Houston Christian. Jack James has been great in relief, ranking second to Templeton on the team with a 3.46 ERA over 13 innings pitched. Blane Zeplin will get the ball against Houston. He carries a 9.45 ERA over 6.2 innings while holding opponents to a .280 batting average against.
A Look at the Cougars
Houston enters this game with a 13-10 overall record and a 2-4 record in the Big 12. They are coming off a big conference series win at UCF, taking two of three games against the Golden Nights.
Connor McGinnins leads the offense, as his .373 batting average and 1.170 OPS lead the team. Xavier Perez is close behind, as his .352 average and 1.151 OPS are second on the team. Perez also had six home runs, 53 total bases, and 26 RBI on the year, all of which lead the Cougars. Aaron Lugo has a .333 batting average and 24 RBI. His batting average is third on the team, while his 26 RBI are second. Finally, Cade Climie is fourth on the team with a .304 batting average and third on the team with a 1.078 OPS. He's also tied with Perez for the team lead in home runs with six.
On the mound, the Cougars are led by Antoine Jean and Paul Schmitz. Jean has a 4.00 ERA across 27 innings pitched, while Schmitz carries a 4.97 ERA across 29 innings pitched. As a team, the Cougars have a 5.23 ERA and 1.52 WHIP across 206 innings.
Series
Tuesday's game against the Lumberjacks and Cougars will be the twelfth time these two teams have matched up. The Cougars currently lead the series 9-2 and won the last game in 2019 16-1 in Nacogdoches.
Ticket Information
Join SFA Baseball at Pilgrim's Park this season! Single-game tickets are on sale now. Fans can visit SFAtickets.com for more information.
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