Streaky Bearkats
3/31/2011 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
After dropping two of their opening three games at Tulane, Sam Houston started the year rattling off 11 consecutive wins including victories over Nebraska, Michigan and No. 14 Rice.
But after winning their Southland opener against UT-Arlington, the Kats went on a different kind of streak, losing six in a row.
Last week, it was the right kind of streak as Sam Houston posted five victories back-to-back. But this week, the Bearkats have dropped two non-conference games in a row, falling to Dallas Baptist 5-3 in Dallas Tuesday and No. 24 Rice 5-2 on Wednesday.
Fighting to get back into the thick of the Southland Conference race, the baseball team needs to reserve that trend immediately as they play host to Northwestern State in a weekend series beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Sam Houston is tied with McNeese State for seventh place in the league standings. Both teams own 4-5 league records. Northwestern State enters the series in 10th place with a 2-7 conference mark. For the year SHSU stands 17-9 while the Demons are 8-17.
With five starters batting more than .300 and a team batting average of .306, Sam Houston stands as one of the top hitting teams in the league.
Chris Andreas (.380), Ryan Mooney (.373), Mark Hudson (.347), Greg Olson (.340) and Doug Oney (.381) have been leaders at the plate through 27 games this year.
But the Demons counter with two of the top hurlers in the league. Colin Bear, who is expected to start Sunday's game for Northwestern State, leads the Southland in earned run average (1.43) and brings a 2-1 record into the contest. Luke Irvine, the Demons' Saturday starter, ranks seventh in the league with a 2.74 earned run mean.
Game times for the Sam Houston versus Northwestern State series are 6:30 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
Following Sunday's game, there will be a special on-field clinic conducted by the Sam Houston coaches and players for Huntsville Boys Baseball Association members who have taken advantage of the special Sam Houston/HBBA free admission offer.
To purchase tickets now online, go to www.gobearkats.com/tickets or call the Sam Houston athletic ticket office at (936) 294-1729. The ticket office is located in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday.
