Friday, May 15
Beaumont, TX
6:00 PM
Stephen F. Austin
vs
(6) Northwestern State
Photo by: SFA Athletics
(7) Jacks Battle (6) Northwestern State in Beaumont Winner's Bracket
5/15/2026 11:11:00 AM | Baseball
SFA advances to Friday night behind first postseason victory since 2019
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Stephen F. Austin is in the winner's bracket in Beaumont and Friday night's tilt with (6) Northwestern State has a berth in the bracket two title game on the line. set for postseason baseball. The Lumberjacks, the No. 7 seed in the Southland Conference Tournament, defeated host (2) Lamar 2-0 on Thursday, while the Demons advanced with a 6-5 win over (3) UTRGV. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. from Vincent-Beck Stadium. Live coverage links are available at SFAjacks.com.
SFA 2, LAMAR 0
April 24 | L, 8-11
April 25 | L, 1-2
April 26 | W, 11-8
SERIES SINCE 2006: NSU, 31-26
>>> In game one, SFA plated five first-inning runs, took an 8-3 lead through five, but surrendered six in the sixth to drop a fourth-straight game
>>> The two dugouts combined for 36 hits on the night in the series opener with the Jacks seeing multi-hit games from the first seven batters in their order highlighted by three-hit nights from Julian Swift and Juan Cantua with the latter delivering three RBI.
>>> In game two, Julian Swift hit a solo home run in the fourth inning for SFA's lone run, the Jacks fanned a collective ten NSU batters, but NSU's Dylan Marionneaux went 8.1 innings with eight strikeouts and allowed just four hits as Mark Henning, Juan Cantua and Rodric Black joined Swift in the hit column.
>>> In the series finale, SFA recorded 16 hits, produced a pair of five-run frames and overcame a 5-0 deficit and five errors to snap a five-game losing streak.
FIRST-TEAM DUO
>>> Jhett Creel and Julian Swift became the first pair of Lumberjack teammates to land on the Southland Conference's first team since 2016. Creel was named as the league's first-team catcher, while Swift earned first-team utility honors.
>>> Creel's first regular season as a Lumberjack saw the Sachse, Texas native hit .304 behind 52 hits (8 2B, 3 HR), 38 runs scored and 26 RBI. Creel hit .347 in league play which was a top 10 average. He posted a top 10 conference OBP of .445, while his .468 on-base percentage in SLC games was the league's best. His 42 walks drawn led the Jacks, ranked third in the SLC and landed inside the DI top 50 at regular season's end. This spring, he has delivered 14 multi-hit games and has eight games with multiple RBI.
>>> The 2026 SLC leader in hits (70) and RBI (53), Julian Swift is the first league hitter in at least two decades to lead the league in both categories. He also led the Jacks in batting average (.329), slugging percentage (.493), doubles (12) and total bases (105) in addition to being the only SFA player to start all 52 games in the regular season. Swift finished as the toughest SLC hitter to strikeout (12.5) which ranked 30th nationally. The Cedar Park, Texas native leads SFA in multi-hit games (22) and multi-RBI games (14) and boasts six games with 3+ hits and seven games with 3+ RBI.
DAWNING OF A NEW ERA
>>> SFA's 28 victories this spring are the most since winning 29 games during the 2019 campaign.
>>> The Jacks finished its home schedule with the most victories at Pilgrim's Park (15) since 2017.
>>> SFA has won on the road 13 times this spring; the most road victories since 2011.
>>> The Jacks won six league series this season (UNO, LU, HCU, A&M-CC, UTRGV, UIW)
>>> Second-year head coach Matt Vanderburg has won 46 games over two seasons in the Piney Woods after the Jacks won 47 total over the three years prior to his arrival.
>>> Vanderburg has 562 wins over his 18-year head coaching career with the 2026 season marking his 14th with 25+ victories
RECORD WATCH
>>> The Jacks set a new single-season program record in walks drawn with 254 after walking three times against Lamar.
>>> SFA's team on-base percentage of .378 is currently the sixth highest in a single season in program history.
>>> The 337 runs plated are the eighth-most all-time and the team's 15 triples rank fifth.
>>> SFA is five RBI shy of becoming the eighth team in program history to reach 300 in a single season.
>>> The 2026 Jacks are one of just four SFA teams with 80+ stolen bases in a single season and rank third all-time with 85.
>>> Cermodrick Bland is one of just four players since 2006 to hit six or more triples in a single season.
>>> Bland became the first player in program history with multiple seasons of two dozen or more stolen bases. His 27 this spring are the third most all-time.
>>> Julian Swift's 53 RBI are the seventh most in a single season.
>>> Only one other player in program history has drawn more walks in a single season than Jhett Creel's 43.
>>> Jack James' ERA of 2.23 is currently the sixth lowest in a single season among SFA arms with 30+ innings pitched.
OTHER NOTABLES
Houston had a Problem --- SFA's victory over the Big 12's Houston was the program's first over a P4 opponent since 2021 when the Jacks beat #25 Oklahoma at Globe Life Park.
3VAN! 3VAN! 3VAN! --- First-year Jack Evan Aslaksen enjoyed a midweek heater hitting a pair of home runs in the win at PVAMU, before exiting Pilgrim's Park the following day in the home win over Alcorn. In the two games, Aslaksen went 6-for-10 with nine RBI highlighted by three home runs and a triple.
Big Bat Ibe --- Josh Ibe was named the SLC Hitter of the Week on April 6. It was the second weekly SLC honor for the Cypress, Texas native in his SFA career and he became the first Lumberjack this spring to earn the league's weekly plaudit. In four games, Ibe hit .438 with seven hits of which five went for extra bases. He delivered three doubles, a pair of home runs and totaled 16 bases. Ibe drove in a team-leading nine runs and tied for the team lead in runs scored with six.
Nine is Fine --- Junior right hander Dylan Mulcahy recorded a career-high nine strikeouts over 5.1 innings pitched to earn the game three victory and give the Jacks the series over HCU. Mulcahy's nine strikeouts matched the most by any SFA arm since the start of the 2023 season. He then followed that up with nine punchouts in the series finale against UTRGV. Between Mulcahy accounting for half of SFA's individual nine-strikeout efforts this spring was such efforts by Cody Templeton in G1 vs. UTRGV and Elian Balmaceda in relief in G1 vs. A&M-CC.
Eleven is Heaven --- SFA erupted for 11 runs in the eighth inning of the series finale against Lamar to erase a 9-3 deficit on their way to a series win with a 14-11 victory. The Jacks have ten innings of 7+ runs in Vanderburg's tenure with eight of those coming this season.
All good things --- Cermodrick Bland's active reached safely streak ended at 31 games following game two of the UNO series.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
USA InVESTment --- Former Lumberjack Will Vest earned the call to Houston to join up with Team USA at the World Baseball Classic after being placed into the designated pitcher pool for the tournament. Vest pitched the seventh inning of the WBC's Gold Medal game allowing one hit with one strikeout.
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 2, LAMAR 0
- The Jacks win in a postseason tournament for the first time since 2019
- Prior to Thursday night's win, the Jacks' last postseason victory was also of the shutout variety blanking (3) Southeastern Louisiana 5-0 on May 22, 2019
- Thursday's win was the 13th for the Jacks on the road which are the most since the 2011 season
- It marked Cody Templeton's 11th outing this season at 5+ innings and the seventh time he pitched into the sixth
- Templeton moved into the top 10 all-time in single season strikeouts with his 72 this spring tied for the sixth most
- Reid Bowyer picked up his fourth save of the season
- Josh Ibe's seventh blast this season gives him 21 for his career as a Lumberjack which is tied for the sixth most all-time in a career
- The Jacks drew three walks on Thursday to set a new single season program record in free passes drawn with 254 and counting
- Ethan Peña recorded his 17th multi-hit game this season; tied for second-most among all SFA hitters
- Juan Cantua's active team-leading reached streak improved to 11 games and Coby DeJesus' increased to nine games
- Mark Henning has reached safely in 31 of his last 32 games
April 24 | L, 8-11
April 25 | L, 1-2
April 26 | W, 11-8
SERIES SINCE 2006: NSU, 31-26
>>> In game one, SFA plated five first-inning runs, took an 8-3 lead through five, but surrendered six in the sixth to drop a fourth-straight game
>>> The two dugouts combined for 36 hits on the night in the series opener with the Jacks seeing multi-hit games from the first seven batters in their order highlighted by three-hit nights from Julian Swift and Juan Cantua with the latter delivering three RBI.
>>> In game two, Julian Swift hit a solo home run in the fourth inning for SFA's lone run, the Jacks fanned a collective ten NSU batters, but NSU's Dylan Marionneaux went 8.1 innings with eight strikeouts and allowed just four hits as Mark Henning, Juan Cantua and Rodric Black joined Swift in the hit column.
>>> In the series finale, SFA recorded 16 hits, produced a pair of five-run frames and overcame a 5-0 deficit and five errors to snap a five-game losing streak.
FIRST-TEAM DUO
>>> Jhett Creel and Julian Swift became the first pair of Lumberjack teammates to land on the Southland Conference's first team since 2016. Creel was named as the league's first-team catcher, while Swift earned first-team utility honors.
>>> Creel's first regular season as a Lumberjack saw the Sachse, Texas native hit .304 behind 52 hits (8 2B, 3 HR), 38 runs scored and 26 RBI. Creel hit .347 in league play which was a top 10 average. He posted a top 10 conference OBP of .445, while his .468 on-base percentage in SLC games was the league's best. His 42 walks drawn led the Jacks, ranked third in the SLC and landed inside the DI top 50 at regular season's end. This spring, he has delivered 14 multi-hit games and has eight games with multiple RBI.
>>> The 2026 SLC leader in hits (70) and RBI (53), Julian Swift is the first league hitter in at least two decades to lead the league in both categories. He also led the Jacks in batting average (.329), slugging percentage (.493), doubles (12) and total bases (105) in addition to being the only SFA player to start all 52 games in the regular season. Swift finished as the toughest SLC hitter to strikeout (12.5) which ranked 30th nationally. The Cedar Park, Texas native leads SFA in multi-hit games (22) and multi-RBI games (14) and boasts six games with 3+ hits and seven games with 3+ RBI.
DAWNING OF A NEW ERA
>>> SFA's 28 victories this spring are the most since winning 29 games during the 2019 campaign.
>>> The Jacks finished its home schedule with the most victories at Pilgrim's Park (15) since 2017.
>>> SFA has won on the road 13 times this spring; the most road victories since 2011.
>>> The Jacks won six league series this season (UNO, LU, HCU, A&M-CC, UTRGV, UIW)
>>> Second-year head coach Matt Vanderburg has won 46 games over two seasons in the Piney Woods after the Jacks won 47 total over the three years prior to his arrival.
>>> Vanderburg has 562 wins over his 18-year head coaching career with the 2026 season marking his 14th with 25+ victories
RECORD WATCH
>>> The Jacks set a new single-season program record in walks drawn with 254 after walking three times against Lamar.
>>> SFA's team on-base percentage of .378 is currently the sixth highest in a single season in program history.
>>> The 337 runs plated are the eighth-most all-time and the team's 15 triples rank fifth.
>>> SFA is five RBI shy of becoming the eighth team in program history to reach 300 in a single season.
>>> The 2026 Jacks are one of just four SFA teams with 80+ stolen bases in a single season and rank third all-time with 85.
>>> Cermodrick Bland is one of just four players since 2006 to hit six or more triples in a single season.
>>> Bland became the first player in program history with multiple seasons of two dozen or more stolen bases. His 27 this spring are the third most all-time.
>>> Julian Swift's 53 RBI are the seventh most in a single season.
>>> Only one other player in program history has drawn more walks in a single season than Jhett Creel's 43.
>>> Jack James' ERA of 2.23 is currently the sixth lowest in a single season among SFA arms with 30+ innings pitched.
OTHER NOTABLES
Houston had a Problem --- SFA's victory over the Big 12's Houston was the program's first over a P4 opponent since 2021 when the Jacks beat #25 Oklahoma at Globe Life Park.
3VAN! 3VAN! 3VAN! --- First-year Jack Evan Aslaksen enjoyed a midweek heater hitting a pair of home runs in the win at PVAMU, before exiting Pilgrim's Park the following day in the home win over Alcorn. In the two games, Aslaksen went 6-for-10 with nine RBI highlighted by three home runs and a triple.
Big Bat Ibe --- Josh Ibe was named the SLC Hitter of the Week on April 6. It was the second weekly SLC honor for the Cypress, Texas native in his SFA career and he became the first Lumberjack this spring to earn the league's weekly plaudit. In four games, Ibe hit .438 with seven hits of which five went for extra bases. He delivered three doubles, a pair of home runs and totaled 16 bases. Ibe drove in a team-leading nine runs and tied for the team lead in runs scored with six.
Nine is Fine --- Junior right hander Dylan Mulcahy recorded a career-high nine strikeouts over 5.1 innings pitched to earn the game three victory and give the Jacks the series over HCU. Mulcahy's nine strikeouts matched the most by any SFA arm since the start of the 2023 season. He then followed that up with nine punchouts in the series finale against UTRGV. Between Mulcahy accounting for half of SFA's individual nine-strikeout efforts this spring was such efforts by Cody Templeton in G1 vs. UTRGV and Elian Balmaceda in relief in G1 vs. A&M-CC.
Eleven is Heaven --- SFA erupted for 11 runs in the eighth inning of the series finale against Lamar to erase a 9-3 deficit on their way to a series win with a 14-11 victory. The Jacks have ten innings of 7+ runs in Vanderburg's tenure with eight of those coming this season.
All good things --- Cermodrick Bland's active reached safely streak ended at 31 games following game two of the UNO series.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
USA InVESTment --- Former Lumberjack Will Vest earned the call to Houston to join up with Team USA at the World Baseball Classic after being placed into the designated pitcher pool for the tournament. Vest pitched the seventh inning of the WBC's Gold Medal game allowing one hit with one strikeout.
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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