Seniors' farewell series
5/18/2011 7:13:00 AM | Baseball
Seven of the seniors are four-year lettermen. Ryan Mooney, second baseman from The Woodlands, the leading hitter for the 2011 Kats, is one of only 10 players in school history to produce more than 200 career hits.
Cy Falls first baseman Daniel Nottebart has contributed as both an infielder and pitcher for Sam Houston. He is appearing in his 129th game as a Bearkat Thursday.
Braeden Riley, shortstop from Woodville, is a four-year starter as an infielder, All-Southland performer and the Bearkats' all-time career hits leader.
Matt Shelton of Mansfield, a four-year starting pitcher for the Bearkats, has rolled up a 20-9 career record on the mound and was the 2009 Southland Conference tournament "Most Valuable Player."
Brent Powers, left-handed pitcher from Richardson, has thrown in 65 games during his career, totaling 215 strike outs for the Kats.
Right-handed pitcher Brandon Kimbrel, a regular starter in the team's Southland rotation this year, leads the 2011 Bearkats in total strike outs.
Justin Jackson of Magnolia has appeared in 58 games and totaled 140 innings on the mound in his four seasons as a right-handed pitcher fo Sam Houston.
Six of the 2011 seniors have played the past two years after transferring to Sam Houston.
Chris Andreas, designated hitter from Brenham, leads the 2011 Bearkats in slugging pct., home runs and RBIs and sports a .353 career batting average.
Doug Oney of Round Rock, a starter at catcher the past two years, has totaled 53 hits and five career home runs in 69 games.
Mark Hudson of Victoria, a two-year starter in the outfield, brings a .305 career batting average that includes 12 home runs and 71 RBIs into his 96th appearance as a Bearkat Thursday.
Right-handed relief pitcher Jordan Westra from Schoolcraft, Mich., has appeared in 18 games in his two-year Bearkat career, striking out 22 batters in 18 innings
Paul Spinn from Holland, Texas, has stepped on to the mound 29 times, striking out 40 batters in 82 innings of action the past two seasons.
Payton Wisener of Katy, a two-year letterman as an outfielder, Payton brings a .333 career batting average into this weekend's action.
The seniors will be honored Saturday before the 1 p.m. season finale at Don Sanders.
This weekend's baseball 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 Game" 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.
