Baseball takes on UTSA in San Antonio this weekend
3/25/2010 11:15:00 AM | Baseball
After two weekends of Southland play, nationally ranked Southeastern Louisiana is the front runner. The Lions are 20-2 for the season and stand in first place with a 5-1 record. Stephen F. Austin at 4-1 and Texas State with a 4-2 mark stand second and third in the standings.
The rest of the race is a jumble. Sam Houston at 3-3 is one of five Southland teams with three wins. UTSA is at the bottom of the heap with a 1-5 mark, but that includes three losses to Southeastern Louisiana in the Roadrunners' opening SLC series.
"Every conference series is big right now. We just need to focus on becoming a better ball club and fighting for every victory we can," Sam Houston head coach Mark Johnson said. "Right now our big concern is improving our fielding. We've got to give our pitchers more defensive support."
Sam Houston ranks fourth in the league in hitting with a .300 team batting average but stands 11th in the Southland with a .956 fielding mark.
Johnson knows what it takes to win. He needs three more victories to become the 44th NCAA Division I head baseball coach to win 1,000 games. Johnson's career record now stands a 997-517-3 in his 25 years of coaching. He will be the 16th currently active in NCAA Division I to post 1,000 career victories.
UTSA traditionally is a tough opponent for the Bearkats. The Roadrunners swept Sam Houston in Huntsville last year, winning 12-0, 10-6 and 8-6.
In fact, the Kats have not won a regular season game against UTSA since 2005 and have not defeated the Roadrunners in San Antonio since a 6-2 victory in 2002.
The Bearkats avenged those losses with an 8-6 victory in 11 innings in the second round of the Southland tournament last May in Corpus Christi.
Two Sam Houston hitters, designated hitter Chris Andreas (.386) and outfielder Mark Hudson (.375) rank among the Southland's top 10 hitters.
Sam Houston looks to start Justin Jackson on the mound Friday night and Paul Spinn in Saturday's 2 p.m. game. The third game of the series with begin at 1 p.m. Sunday.
The Bearkats return to Don Sanders Stadium Tuesday, March 30, for a 6:30 p.m. non-conference encounter with Dallas Baptisti. Tickets for Sam Houston State baseball home games are on sale online at www.gobearkats.com.
The Sam Houston State athletic ticket office in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The ticket office telephone number is 936 294-1729.
Fans also can order exciting Sam Houston State gear at Bearkat Gear link on www.gobearkats.com.
