Friday, February 27
New Orleans, LA
6:30 P.M.
Stephen F. Austin
at
New Orleans
Photo by: Elysa Ripley
Jacks, Privateers to Open Southland Play in New Orleans
2/26/2026 3:21:00 PM | Baseball
SFA begins second league slate under Vanderburg
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The season within the season begins this weekend in the Crescent City as Stephen F. Austin baseball opens Southland Conference action with a three-game series at New Orleans. The Jacks have won seven of their first ten games of the season for the first time in a decade and a half and eye their first victory in a league opener since 2020. Friday's series opener is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. with Saturday's game two at noon and Sunday's series finale set for 1 p.m. Live coverage links for the series are available at www.SFAjacks.com.
SFA (7-3) at NEW ORLEANS (4-5)
Southland Conference Opening Series
Maestri Field | Feb. 27 – March 1
PURCHASE TICKETS
ESPN+: Game 1 | Game 3
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
THE SERIES
--- The Privateers lead the all-time series 10-8 and took two of three from SFA last season in Nacogdoches. UNO's two wins were by 3-2 scores, while the Jacks run-ruled the Privateers in game two.
--- Friday's first pitch marks the first meeting between the two teams in the Big Easy since the 2015 season with the last 14 games played in Texas with 13 of those in Nacogdoches.
--- The Jacks took two of three at UNO in 2015, while neither program has earned a sweep of the other over the previous five series.
NEW ORLEANS RUNDOWN
2026 Season Statistics
--- The Privateers are 4-5 on the season with back-to-back wins over south Louisiana neighbors Tulane and Southern.
--- Offensively, UNO ranks in the top three of the SLC in walks (52), hits (92), home runs (14) and slugging percentage (.460).
--- As a pitching staff, UNO rates near the bottom of the league in K-to-BB ratio (1.17), K/9 (7.8) and BB/9 (6.69).
--- The Privateers have totaled 68 strikeouts.
--- Fourteen arms have totaled 2.0 or more innings on the mound in the season's early going.
--- William Andrade owns the lowest ERA (1.17) among pitchers with 7.0 innings thrown and he leads the staff in strikeouts with 10.
--- The Privateers are averaging 6.9 runs per game and are allowing 6.3 runs.
--- UNO is hitting .286 as a team with a staff ERA of 5.65.
--- Eli Tidwell carries the league's second-highest batting average into the weekend at .481, while teammate Dylan Biddick follows with the fourth-highest average at .444.
--- Biddick is among the SLC's leaders in hits as his 16 match the Jacks' Cermodrick Bland, while his slugging percentage (.778) is second in the league.
--- Kruise Newman and Owen Smith each have three home runs on the year.
JACKS IN THE SOUTHLAND
--- SFA won nine league games a season ago.
--- A win on Friday night would give the Jacks the program's first win in a league opener since 2020.
--- The Jacks closed out 2025 by winning four-straight SLC games and five of their final six.
PEARatings
--- SFA carries a top 25 WAR rate of 2.18 into the weekend series at UNO.
--- The Jacks have recorded 17 kill shots, an inning that sees a team score 2+ runs and then allow none, this season which are the 12th most nationally.
--- SFA's 1.70 kill shots per game are among the top 30 in the country.
--- The Jacks are also inside the DI top 15 in PYTHAG (Pythagorean Win %), a Bill James specialty that estimates a team's expected winning % based on runs scored vs. runs allowed.
--- SFA's PYTHAG rating is currently .908; 13th highest in DI and second among mid-majors.
NEARLY BEAT THE BEARS
Baylor 9, SFA 8
--- Twice trailing by five runs, Stephen F. Austin baseball rallied back with a five-run sixth inning to tie Tuesday night's midweek tilt with Baylor at 8, but the host Bears used a steal of home to grab a ninth run in the eighth inning, before holding off the Jacks in the ninth to claim the one-run victory from Magnolia Field at Baylor Ballpark.
--- All eight runs plated by the Jacks crossed with two outs.
BATTLED BACK TO SPLIT
--- The Jacks dropped the first two games of the four-game set with UAPB despite carrying a pair of leads into the sixth inning of each game.
--- In game three, Bland accounted for half of SFA's four hits including a two-run double in the fifth inning that gave the Jacks a 2-1 lead that they would not relinquish. With two outs, Bland placed a pitch down the left field line to give SFA starter Dylan Mulcahy the lead. Mulcahy worked around three walks and allowed just two hits with six strikeouts.
--- In the finale, SFA sent a dozen batters to the plate in a profitable sixth and pushed across seven runs with two outs on only four hits in the frame: a lead-off single by Julian Swift, a two-out double by Ethan Pena, a bunt single by Rodric Black to load the bases and a two-run single from Mark Henning.
NO-NO! NO, NO, NO! NO!
SFA 8, Huston Tilloston 0
--- Six Lumberjack arms combined to toss 9.0 innings of hitless baseball in SFA's 8-0 win over Huston Tillotson. The Jacks tossed the ball to Seanan Farney who went 3.0 innings in a starting role allowing just two free passes with five strikeouts as he faced two over the minimum before giving way to five relievers, the first of which was Gage Elliott (W, 1-0) who went 2.0 innings with two punchouts to earn the victory. Jack James, Kadin Munson, Nate Bergeron and Ayden Terry all tossed a frame with James and Terry facing the minimum. Ethan Adkisson caught all six arms which totaled 11 punchouts and relied on a defense that recorded seven flyouts and seven groundouts with Bergeron receiving a 4-6-3 double play to end the eighth.
RUNS, RUNS, RUNS
--- SFA's 56 runs over opening weekend were the fourth-most in the country, while its 91 total runs through ten games are the 16th most in DI, while the per-game average of 9.1 is currently a top 40 average nationally.
--- SFA plated 8+ runs in each of its first five games this season; the longest streak since scoring 8+ runs in a four-game sweep of UIW (4/1-3) and a midweek win over Grambling (4/6) in 2021.
--- The Jacks have scored eight or more runs in seven of ten games this season.
--- The 91 runs plated are the most through the first ten games of a season in program history.
--- The Jacks pushed across double-digit runs in each of the four games against the Delta Devils. SFA's 17 runs in the season opener are the second-most by the Jacks in any game under Vanderburg and the Jacks have 15 games with 10+ runs in his tenure following the win over UAPB in the series finale.
PILGRIM'S PARK MASH METRICS
--- Josh Ibe left the yard for the second time this season on Tuesday night as he deposited a third inning pitch nearly 400 ft out to left centerfield to open scoring against the Rams.
B3 | Ibe | 2R LC (396-107-22)
B5 | Cantua | 1R LC (368-102-27)
B1 | Ibe | 1R RF (400-104-26)
(Distance (ft), Exit Velo (mph), Launch Angle (degrees))
STREAKIN'
--- Bland's active reached safely streak moved to 30 games following his three-run blast in Waco on Tuesday.
--- Ethan Pena has a team-leading nine-game hitting streak.
--- Trey Acreman has reached safely in his last six games.
AT THE PLATE
--- Bland (16), Peña (15) and Swift (13) lead the Jacks at the plate as SFA's 101 hits this season are a top 15 mark in the country and tops in the SLC.
--- Bland's 16 hits and 13 RBI lead the SLC with his hit total ranking 13th in Division I and his RBI output among the top 50 hitters.
--- Peña follows with 11 RBI which ranks third in the SLC.
--- Henning boast a toughest to strikeout rate of 28.0 which paces the Southland and is 31st nationally.
--- Creel and Bland rank first and second, respectively, in the SLC in runs scored with a combined 23.
--- The Jacks have recorded 10+ hits in a game six times this season.
--- SFA has combined for 30 extra-base hits with nine different Jacks accounting for the team's 23 doubles, the 11th-most of any DI program in the nation, highlighted by Peña's five which is tops in the SLC and inside the DI top 20.
TAKE THE FREEBIES
--- The Jacks drew 38 walks on opening weekend second to only New Mexico (41).
--- Only Georgia Tech (79) and Oklahoma (78) have recorded more free passes than the Jacks (73) entering the third weekend of the season.
--- Jhett Creel, Henning and Bland all rank inside the league's top five in walks with Creel's 11 leading the team, ranking second in the SLC and 14th among all DI hitters.
WHEELIN'
--- The Jacks have stolen 31 bases, the fifth-most swipes in the country.
--- SFA's 3.1 per game is the 12th most in the country and pace the SLC.
--- Cooper Schneider have been successful in all eight of his attempts with Rodric Black perfect in five efforts. Bland is 8-of-9 in stolen bag opportunities.
--- Nine players have recorded a steal this season with seven grabbing multiple bags.
& DEALIN'
--- The Jacks' team ERA of 2.78 rates 16th nationally and leads the SLC.
--- SFA leads the SLC in WHIP (1.27) and ranks second in the league in hits allowed per nine (7.67), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.91), strikeouts per nine (11.0) and walks allowed per nine (3.78).
--- SFA is allowing just over 1.5 extra base hits per game, while opponents are hitting just .229 against the Jacks staff.
--- SFA has recorded 99 punchouts with 17 arms responsible for two or more with Cody Templeton, Dylan Mulcahy and Nate Vidlak at 11 each.
--- Mulcahy is one of three SLC arms with two wins this season.
--- In two starts, totaling 9.0 innings, Gabe LeBlanc has not allowed a run and owns a WHIP of .67 after scattering five hits and a walk.
NOTABLES
Game One, Game Won --- SFA's 17-2 (7) win over Mississippi Valley State was the Jacks' first win in a season opener since knocking off Northwestern State in the first game of the 2022 campaign.
Nine is Fine --- The Jacks swiped nine bases in the game three win over MVSU which is tied for the second-most steals in a single game in program history.
Not Tonight --- SFA's effort on the mound, using six different arms, against Huston Tillotson marked the first combined nine-inning no-hitter in program history.
Best Start… Ever --- SFA's 5-0 start to the season is the best in program history, while its sweep of MVSU to open the year marked just the second 4-0 start ever by the Jacks.
Seven of 10 --- The Jacks won seven of the squad's first ten games of the season for the first time since 2010.
Impressive Streak --- Julian Swift saw a 19-game hitting streak come to an end in Pine Bluff. Swift's impressive stretch of base knocks is the third longest in program history.
Seven is Heaven --- The Jacks' seven-run sixth inning in the series finale against UAPB marked the fifth inning of 7+ runs in Vanderburg's tenure and the third in nine games this season.
UP NEXT
The Jacks prep for Abilene Christian in the first game of a scheduled midweek home-and-home. SFA and ACU split last season's meetings with the road teams picking up wins including a 15-13 shootout victory by the Jacks in mid-March. First-pitch on Wednesday is scheduled for 6 p.m. Live coverage links will be available at www.SFAjacks.com.
SECURE YOUR SEATS TODAY
Single game tickets for all SFA baseball home games are available now. Fans interested in purchasing season ticket packages can secure their seats here. Don't miss out on all the exciting action from Pilgrim's Park this season!
THE JACKS HAVE GONE MOBILE
SFA Athletics' newest mobile phone application is designed to bring Lumberjack fans closer to the action than ever before. Available now on both the App Store and Google Play, the new SFA Athletics app delivers schedules, scores, rosters, news, ticket access, and exclusive content right to your phone. Fans can also receive push notifications, so they never miss a moment of the action. Download now: Official SFA Athletics App.
FOLLOW THE JACKS
For all the latest information on SFA baseball, visit SFAjacks.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Jacks on X, Instagram and Facebook.
SFA (7-3) at NEW ORLEANS (4-5)
Southland Conference Opening Series
Maestri Field | Feb. 27 – March 1
PURCHASE TICKETS
ESPN+: Game 1 | Game 3
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
THE SERIES
--- The Privateers lead the all-time series 10-8 and took two of three from SFA last season in Nacogdoches. UNO's two wins were by 3-2 scores, while the Jacks run-ruled the Privateers in game two.
--- Friday's first pitch marks the first meeting between the two teams in the Big Easy since the 2015 season with the last 14 games played in Texas with 13 of those in Nacogdoches.
--- The Jacks took two of three at UNO in 2015, while neither program has earned a sweep of the other over the previous five series.
NEW ORLEANS RUNDOWN
2026 Season Statistics
--- The Privateers are 4-5 on the season with back-to-back wins over south Louisiana neighbors Tulane and Southern.
--- Offensively, UNO ranks in the top three of the SLC in walks (52), hits (92), home runs (14) and slugging percentage (.460).
--- As a pitching staff, UNO rates near the bottom of the league in K-to-BB ratio (1.17), K/9 (7.8) and BB/9 (6.69).
--- The Privateers have totaled 68 strikeouts.
--- Fourteen arms have totaled 2.0 or more innings on the mound in the season's early going.
--- William Andrade owns the lowest ERA (1.17) among pitchers with 7.0 innings thrown and he leads the staff in strikeouts with 10.
--- The Privateers are averaging 6.9 runs per game and are allowing 6.3 runs.
--- UNO is hitting .286 as a team with a staff ERA of 5.65.
--- Eli Tidwell carries the league's second-highest batting average into the weekend at .481, while teammate Dylan Biddick follows with the fourth-highest average at .444.
--- Biddick is among the SLC's leaders in hits as his 16 match the Jacks' Cermodrick Bland, while his slugging percentage (.778) is second in the league.
--- Kruise Newman and Owen Smith each have three home runs on the year.
JACKS IN THE SOUTHLAND
--- SFA won nine league games a season ago.
--- A win on Friday night would give the Jacks the program's first win in a league opener since 2020.
--- The Jacks closed out 2025 by winning four-straight SLC games and five of their final six.
PEARatings
--- SFA carries a top 25 WAR rate of 2.18 into the weekend series at UNO.
--- The Jacks have recorded 17 kill shots, an inning that sees a team score 2+ runs and then allow none, this season which are the 12th most nationally.
--- SFA's 1.70 kill shots per game are among the top 30 in the country.
--- The Jacks are also inside the DI top 15 in PYTHAG (Pythagorean Win %), a Bill James specialty that estimates a team's expected winning % based on runs scored vs. runs allowed.
--- SFA's PYTHAG rating is currently .908; 13th highest in DI and second among mid-majors.
NEARLY BEAT THE BEARS
Baylor 9, SFA 8
--- Twice trailing by five runs, Stephen F. Austin baseball rallied back with a five-run sixth inning to tie Tuesday night's midweek tilt with Baylor at 8, but the host Bears used a steal of home to grab a ninth run in the eighth inning, before holding off the Jacks in the ninth to claim the one-run victory from Magnolia Field at Baylor Ballpark.
--- All eight runs plated by the Jacks crossed with two outs.
BATTLED BACK TO SPLIT
--- The Jacks dropped the first two games of the four-game set with UAPB despite carrying a pair of leads into the sixth inning of each game.
--- In game three, Bland accounted for half of SFA's four hits including a two-run double in the fifth inning that gave the Jacks a 2-1 lead that they would not relinquish. With two outs, Bland placed a pitch down the left field line to give SFA starter Dylan Mulcahy the lead. Mulcahy worked around three walks and allowed just two hits with six strikeouts.
--- In the finale, SFA sent a dozen batters to the plate in a profitable sixth and pushed across seven runs with two outs on only four hits in the frame: a lead-off single by Julian Swift, a two-out double by Ethan Pena, a bunt single by Rodric Black to load the bases and a two-run single from Mark Henning.
NO-NO! NO, NO, NO! NO!
SFA 8, Huston Tilloston 0
--- Six Lumberjack arms combined to toss 9.0 innings of hitless baseball in SFA's 8-0 win over Huston Tillotson. The Jacks tossed the ball to Seanan Farney who went 3.0 innings in a starting role allowing just two free passes with five strikeouts as he faced two over the minimum before giving way to five relievers, the first of which was Gage Elliott (W, 1-0) who went 2.0 innings with two punchouts to earn the victory. Jack James, Kadin Munson, Nate Bergeron and Ayden Terry all tossed a frame with James and Terry facing the minimum. Ethan Adkisson caught all six arms which totaled 11 punchouts and relied on a defense that recorded seven flyouts and seven groundouts with Bergeron receiving a 4-6-3 double play to end the eighth.
RUNS, RUNS, RUNS
--- SFA's 56 runs over opening weekend were the fourth-most in the country, while its 91 total runs through ten games are the 16th most in DI, while the per-game average of 9.1 is currently a top 40 average nationally.
--- SFA plated 8+ runs in each of its first five games this season; the longest streak since scoring 8+ runs in a four-game sweep of UIW (4/1-3) and a midweek win over Grambling (4/6) in 2021.
--- The Jacks have scored eight or more runs in seven of ten games this season.
--- The 91 runs plated are the most through the first ten games of a season in program history.
--- The Jacks pushed across double-digit runs in each of the four games against the Delta Devils. SFA's 17 runs in the season opener are the second-most by the Jacks in any game under Vanderburg and the Jacks have 15 games with 10+ runs in his tenure following the win over UAPB in the series finale.
PILGRIM'S PARK MASH METRICS
--- Josh Ibe left the yard for the second time this season on Tuesday night as he deposited a third inning pitch nearly 400 ft out to left centerfield to open scoring against the Rams.
B3 | Ibe | 2R LC (396-107-22)
B5 | Cantua | 1R LC (368-102-27)
B1 | Ibe | 1R RF (400-104-26)
(Distance (ft), Exit Velo (mph), Launch Angle (degrees))
STREAKIN'
--- Bland's active reached safely streak moved to 30 games following his three-run blast in Waco on Tuesday.
--- Ethan Pena has a team-leading nine-game hitting streak.
--- Trey Acreman has reached safely in his last six games.
AT THE PLATE
--- Bland (16), Peña (15) and Swift (13) lead the Jacks at the plate as SFA's 101 hits this season are a top 15 mark in the country and tops in the SLC.
--- Bland's 16 hits and 13 RBI lead the SLC with his hit total ranking 13th in Division I and his RBI output among the top 50 hitters.
--- Peña follows with 11 RBI which ranks third in the SLC.
--- Henning boast a toughest to strikeout rate of 28.0 which paces the Southland and is 31st nationally.
--- Creel and Bland rank first and second, respectively, in the SLC in runs scored with a combined 23.
--- The Jacks have recorded 10+ hits in a game six times this season.
--- SFA has combined for 30 extra-base hits with nine different Jacks accounting for the team's 23 doubles, the 11th-most of any DI program in the nation, highlighted by Peña's five which is tops in the SLC and inside the DI top 20.
TAKE THE FREEBIES
--- The Jacks drew 38 walks on opening weekend second to only New Mexico (41).
--- Only Georgia Tech (79) and Oklahoma (78) have recorded more free passes than the Jacks (73) entering the third weekend of the season.
--- Jhett Creel, Henning and Bland all rank inside the league's top five in walks with Creel's 11 leading the team, ranking second in the SLC and 14th among all DI hitters.
WHEELIN'
--- The Jacks have stolen 31 bases, the fifth-most swipes in the country.
--- SFA's 3.1 per game is the 12th most in the country and pace the SLC.
--- Cooper Schneider have been successful in all eight of his attempts with Rodric Black perfect in five efforts. Bland is 8-of-9 in stolen bag opportunities.
--- Nine players have recorded a steal this season with seven grabbing multiple bags.
& DEALIN'
--- The Jacks' team ERA of 2.78 rates 16th nationally and leads the SLC.
--- SFA leads the SLC in WHIP (1.27) and ranks second in the league in hits allowed per nine (7.67), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.91), strikeouts per nine (11.0) and walks allowed per nine (3.78).
--- SFA is allowing just over 1.5 extra base hits per game, while opponents are hitting just .229 against the Jacks staff.
--- SFA has recorded 99 punchouts with 17 arms responsible for two or more with Cody Templeton, Dylan Mulcahy and Nate Vidlak at 11 each.
--- Mulcahy is one of three SLC arms with two wins this season.
--- In two starts, totaling 9.0 innings, Gabe LeBlanc has not allowed a run and owns a WHIP of .67 after scattering five hits and a walk.
NOTABLES
Game One, Game Won --- SFA's 17-2 (7) win over Mississippi Valley State was the Jacks' first win in a season opener since knocking off Northwestern State in the first game of the 2022 campaign.
Nine is Fine --- The Jacks swiped nine bases in the game three win over MVSU which is tied for the second-most steals in a single game in program history.
Not Tonight --- SFA's effort on the mound, using six different arms, against Huston Tillotson marked the first combined nine-inning no-hitter in program history.
Best Start… Ever --- SFA's 5-0 start to the season is the best in program history, while its sweep of MVSU to open the year marked just the second 4-0 start ever by the Jacks.
Seven of 10 --- The Jacks won seven of the squad's first ten games of the season for the first time since 2010.
Impressive Streak --- Julian Swift saw a 19-game hitting streak come to an end in Pine Bluff. Swift's impressive stretch of base knocks is the third longest in program history.
Seven is Heaven --- The Jacks' seven-run sixth inning in the series finale against UAPB marked the fifth inning of 7+ runs in Vanderburg's tenure and the third in nine games this season.
UP NEXT
The Jacks prep for Abilene Christian in the first game of a scheduled midweek home-and-home. SFA and ACU split last season's meetings with the road teams picking up wins including a 15-13 shootout victory by the Jacks in mid-March. First-pitch on Wednesday is scheduled for 6 p.m. Live coverage links will be available at www.SFAjacks.com.
SECURE YOUR SEATS TODAY
Single game tickets for all SFA baseball home games are available now. Fans interested in purchasing season ticket packages can secure their seats here. Don't miss out on all the exciting action from Pilgrim's Park this season!
THE JACKS HAVE GONE MOBILE
SFA Athletics' newest mobile phone application is designed to bring Lumberjack fans closer to the action than ever before. Available now on both the App Store and Google Play, the new SFA Athletics app delivers schedules, scores, rosters, news, ticket access, and exclusive content right to your phone. Fans can also receive push notifications, so they never miss a moment of the action. Download now: Official SFA Athletics App.
FOLLOW THE JACKS
For all the latest information on SFA baseball, visit SFAjacks.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Jacks on X, Instagram and Facebook.
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