Bearkat Baseball Announces 2013 Schedule
10/2/2012 4:18:00 PM | Baseball
The Sam Houston
State baseball team announced its schedule for the 2013 campaign, highlighted by
30 games at Don Sanders Stadium. The 2012 Southland Conference champions will
host in-state rivals Baylor, Houston, Rice, and Texas A&M in non-conference
play.
"I really believe
we have a very good schedule and a very tough schedule," said Sam Houston head
baseball coach David Pierce. "For our team to grow and become better, we have
to play the best opponents. It will be a great challenge for us."
Sam Houston will
play two exhibition games on the road this fall. The Kats will tussle with Texas at Disch-Falk Field Oct. 21 and the following weekend against Rice at Reckling Park.
The season opener
for Sam Houston will be at the Texas State Tournament in San Marcos, Feb.
15-17, and the first game at Don Sanders Stadium is against Houston on Feb. 19.
The non-conference home
slate, in addition to Baylor, Houston, Rice, and A&M, features home series
against Louisiana-Monroe, Arkansas State, and Connecticut. Sam Houston will
also host UTA and Prairie View A&M in 2013.
The Bearkats will
have return trips to Baylor, Houston, Rice, and Texas A&M in 2013 as well
as a trip to Austin to face Texas, and to San Antonio to play UTSA. The final
non-conference series for the Kats is at Dallas Baptist. The DBU Patriots are a
perennial NCAA Tournament participant and the Bearkats have plenty of history
against them. The Kats lead the series with Dallas Baptist 21-12.
"We are always
looking at how does our schedule put us in a position at the end of the year to
have a shot at postseason play," Coach Pierce said. "Our pre-conference
schedule and our mid weeks prepare us for that."
Sam Houston opens defense
of the 2012 Southland championship at home against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi,
March 22-24. The Kats will host Oral Roberts, April 19-21, for the first-ever
conference series between the two teams.
The other home
conference series for the Bearkats are McNeese State, Nicholls State, and
Central Arkansas. Sam Houston will face plenty of tests on the road with
Stephen F. Austin, Lamar, Northwestern State, and Southeastern Louisiana all
away.
"Every team in our
league is good enough to beat you," said Pierce. "Every team is capable of
taking two out of three or sweeping you if you aren't prepared.
The 2013 Southland
Conference Baseball Tournament will be played at Constellation Field, the home
of the Sugarland Skeeters, May 22-25. The Skeeters play in the Atlantic League
of Professional Baseball. This is a return to a neutral site for the conference
baseball championship after recently being hosted at campus sites.
"I really like that
we're going to a neutral site," Pierce said. "It's not only a neutral site but
also a beautiful ballpark. It's in a great location for us and it should be
very fan-friendly. I can't think of a better place for our conference
tournament."
The 2012 season was
one of the best in Sam Houston baseball history. The Bearkats won the
conference regular season title and received an at-large bid to the NCAA
Tournament. SHSU knocked out regional hosts Rice before falling to Arkansas in
the regional finals.
The 2013 NCAA Regional games are slated for May 31-June 3 before Super
Regionals take place the weekend of June 7-10. College baseball's national
champion will be crowned in Omaha during the College World Series on June
15-26.
