Cardinals call Friday at the Don
4/14/2011 11:11:00 AM | Baseball
Lamar enters ranked third in the Southland Conference standings with a 9-6 mark, just two games behind league leader Texas State. The Cardinals own a 22-13 overall season record.
Sam Houston is tied for fifth place with UT-Arlington, both with 8-7 Southland marks. The Bearkats are 23-12 after defeating the University of Houston 9-0 in non-conference action Tuesday night.
The series begins Friday at 6:30 p.m. The two teams also meet Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Two of the "winningest" coaches in college baseball will be on the field. Jim Gilligan of Lamar is one victory away from his 1,200th career victory. The Cardinals' skipper ranks third among NCAA Division I active baseball coaches in total wins.
Sam Houston head coach Mark Johnson, who has announced that he is retiring at the end of this season, stands 17th among active baseball coaches with 1,031 victories.
The Bearkats have won seven of their last eight games against the Cardinals over the past three years. Sam Houston comes into Friday as the Southland Conference leader in team batting average.
The Kats own a team batting average of .301 with four starters sporting above .300 hitting means.
Designated hitter Chris Andreas leads the squad with a .381 average that includes 14 doubles, a triple and seven home runs. Other top averages on the team are owned by second baseman Ryan Mooney (.366) and outfielders Mark Hudson (.328) and Greg Olson (.315).
Riley is chasing a Sam Houston career mark. The senior is 10 hits away from becoming the Bearkats' all-time leader in total hits. Terry Pirtle set the school record in 1984-87 with 271. Riley has 262 career hits coming into the weekend's action.
Tickets for all Sam Houston home baseball games are available online at www.gobearkats.com/tickets or at the athletic ticket office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium.
Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ticket office telephone is (936) 294-1729.
