Central Arkansas series
5/12/2011 8:46:00 AM | Baseball
The series begins Friday night at 6:30 p.m. with games to follow Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Texas State leads the Southland with a 20-7 conference mark and a 31-17 overall record. Stephen F. Austin is the second place at 17-10 and 30-18. After sweeping SFA in Nacogdoches last week, Sam Houston stands 16-11 in Southland action and 33-17 for the season.
Four games behind the Bobcats with six to play appears a daunting task if Sam Houston looks to win or tie for the regular season championship. Texas State ends the regular season with series against Nicholls and UT-Arlington. Sam Houston's only Southland Conference regular season title came in 1989.
But SFA and the number two seed in the Southland post-season tournament and the Kats trail the Lumberjacks by just one game. SFA ends the regular season with Southeastern Louisiana and Lamar. The last time a Bearkat team finished among the top three teams in the Southland race was in 1997.
Central Arkansas brings a 10-17 Southland mark and 21-26 overall record into the weekend series. The Bears are led by Jonathan Davis with a .366 average.
Davis ranks fifth in the Southland while Sam Houston leading hitter Ryan Mooney stands sixth with a .357 hitting mean. Chris Andreas also ranks among the league's top 10 hitters with a .337 batting average.
Following the UCA series the Bearkats will wrap up the regular season against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Thursday, May 19, through Saturday, May 21.
The series marks the final home appearance for Sam Houston head coach Mark Johnson who is retiring at the end of the 2011 season. Game times for the series are 6:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Johnson, who last year became only the 44th head coach in NCAA Division I baseball history to post more than 1,000 victories, will be honored in a special pre-game ceremony before the "Farewell Game" Friday, May 20.
Tickets for the three remaining home games including the Mark Johnson "Farewell Classic" Friday May 20 at 6:30 p.m. 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 number is (936) 294-1729.
