Southland Baseball Opens
2/16/2012 11:00:00 PM | Baseball
The 49th season of Southland Conference baseball gets underway Friday when all 12 teams take to the diamond.
Dave Pierce makes his debut as Sam Houston State head coach as his young Bearkats take on the University of San Diego in a three-game series at Don Sanders Stadium.
No. 35 Texas State, winners of the 2011 regular-season and conference tournament championships, plays host the Bobcat Invitational this weekend.
Lamar is also hosting a tournament this weekend. Stephen F. Austin, which finished second in the regular-season and in the tournament last year, will be in Beaumont for the Lamar Classic, which also features Portland and Arkansas State.
In all, Southland teams will play 39 games the opening weekend of the season. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi will welcome Nebraska-Omaha for a four-game series that features a pair of games under the new lights at renovated Chapman Field, which got a new playing surface and expanded by another 700 seats.
The other nine Southland teams will play in a three-game series. Eight teams will play at home, while four teams open on the road.
The 2012 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament will be played at Bobcat Baseball Stadium in San Marcos for the second consecutive year. This year's tournament will be played May 23-26. The top eight teams, based on win-loss percentage, will qualify for the tournament, which will play in a double-elimination format in two brackets, similar to the College World Series.
Texas State is the only team from the Southland Conference to be ranked in any of the four major preseason polls. The Bobcats are No. 35 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper preseason poll, which ranks the top 40 teams prior to the season and 30 once the season starts.
Sam Houston State was the lone Southland Conference university to hire a new baseball coach in the offseason.
Nine-year Rice assistant David Pierce was named the Bearkats head coach last June. Pierce replaced the legendary Mark Johnson, who announced his retirement from baseball prior to the 2011 season. Pierce has been the pitching coach for a Rice team that has been one of the best in college baseball. In the last five years, the Rice pitching staff has been ranked in the top 30 in the NCAA in staff ERA, including a No. 4 national mark in 2007. Pierce previously served one season (1991) as an assistant at Rice under the late David Hall. He later was head coach for five seasons at Pasadena's Dobie High School, where he led the Longhorns to three District 23-5A championships and three berths in the Region III semifinals.
In last year's Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, the Southland Conference tied its record for draft picks in one year with 25. The league also had 25 picks in the 1995 draft. The 2011 draft marked the fourth time in Southland history the conference had at least 20 selections. The league had 24 selections in 2004 and 21 picks in 2009. A total of 11 schools accounted for this year's total, led by Texas State's five selections. McNeese State and Sam Houston State each had three players picked while Lamar, Northwestern State, Southeastern Louisiana, Stephen F. Austin, UT Arlington and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi each had two players picked. Central Arkansas and UTSA each had one.
McNeese State shortstop Jace Peterson was the first Southland player selected in the 2011 draft, going to the San Diego Padres as the 58th overall pick in the Compensation A round. Three other players were selected in the first eight rounds. Texas State third baseman Kyle Kubitza was taken by the Atlanta Braves in the third round (115), while conference hitter of the year Bryson Myles of Stephen F. Austin was taken in the sixth round (188) by the Cleveland Indians. Texas State right-hander Carson Smith, the Southland's pitcher of the year, was drafted in the eighth round (243) by the Seattle Mariners.
Team Capsules...
Central Arkansas Notes: Central Arkansas finished 24-29 overall last season and was 11th in the Southland with a 13-20 record ... both the league coaches and SIDs picked the Bears to finish 12th this season, the second under coach Allen Gum ... 2011 conference freshman of the year, Johnathan Davis returns ... the Louisville Slugger freshman All-American led the Bears and ranked fifth in the Southland with a .350 batting average in 2011 ... he had a team-high 21 stolen bases to rank fifth in the Southland and 37th in the nation ... Davis led UCA with 43 runs scored, a .522 slugging percentage and a .441 on-base percentage in his first season ... he also tied for the team lead with five home runs ... UCA lost its top pitcher from a year ago in left-hander Dustin Ward, who was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 19th round of the MLB Draft ... Ward went 8-4 and was a two-time Southland pitcher of the week and a third-team all-conference selection ... UCA returns just 12 of the team's 24 wins among its pitching staff, including three each from Ryan Angus and Blake Payne ... Bryan Willson won twice and Andy Steinmetz, Ethan McKinzie, Clint Green and John Kordsmeier had one victory each ... UCA returns only eight everyday players from last year's team, but welcomes 12 new position players among the 22 overall newcomers, including 11 pitchers.
Lamar Notes: The Cardinals finished 29-27 overall and tied with Nicholls State and UT Arlington for seventh in the Southland ... Lamar was picked sixth in the preseason coaches poll and fifth in the preseason SID poll ... in 34 seasons as Lamar's head coach, Jim Gilligan has racked up 1,196 victories ... overall, counting a one-year stay at Western New Mexico in his first head-coaching job, Gilligan has a career record of 1,206-770, ranking him sixth among the NCAA's active Division I coaches ... Lamar lost all of its infield position starters plus catcher Joey Latulippe from its 29-27 team in 2011 ... among the newcomers who are expected to make immediate impact are 1B Brad Picha from Paris Junior College, 2B Davis Harris (Navarro College), 3B Seth Dornak (Galveston JC), SS Aaron Olivas (Cisco JC) and catchers Thomas Henk (Angelina College) and Zach Luevanos (Seminole JC) ... Cardinal pitchers Eric Harrington and Jonathan Dziedzic, both of whom were sidelined by injuries last season, appear to be on schedule to make healthy comebacks this spring ... Harrington, a right-hander who is 18-4 in two-plus seasons and a freshman All-America in 2009, made only five appearances last season and went 2-0 ... Dziedzic, a left-hander who led the Southland in strikeouts with 114 as a freshman in 2010, made six appearances and went 1-1 last season.
mcNeese State Notes: The Cowboys finished 26-30 overall last year and finished 10th in the Southland with a 14-19 record ... McNeese was picked ninth by the league coaches and SIDs in the two preseason polls ... the Cowboys return four full time position starters from last season - OF Seth Granger, 3B Renny Weber, 1B Nick Eubanks and 2B Trey Rickrode ... Weber has been moved to catcher and he could start there ... Granger is the top returning batter after leading the team with a .372 average, 55 RBI and 84 base hits last year ... Weber was second on the team in batting with a .335 mark ... the top three losses for the Cowboys were all drafted by major league baseball: SS Jace Peterson was the 58th player taken (San Diego), OF Lee Orr was drafted in 13 round (San Diego) and P Zach Butler was taken in the 34th round (Tampa Bay) ... head coach Terry Burrows, a former Cowboy pitcher and Southland Conference player of the year (1990), is now in his fifth year at McNeese ... the Cowboys will play seven consecutive games on the road before opening its home season ... among the key newcomers to the team are outfielder Skylar Barrentine (transfer from Louisiana-Monroe) and Michael Sullivan (Scottsdale CC) who can play catcher and first base ... one of the top home games for the Cowboys this season will be a Feb. 29 battle with LSU at Cowboy Diamond ... it is the first time the Tigers have played at McNeese since the 1998 season.
Nicholls State Notes: The Colonels finished 28-29 overall last year and were among three teams tied for seventh in Southland Conference play ... Nicholls have made back-to-back tournament appearances for the first time in school history ... the Colonels made the semifinals of the conference tournament for only the second time ... this year, Nicholls is picked 11th in the coaches preseason poll and ninth in the SID poll ... the Colonels won 28 games for the first time in nine years and have won more games the last two years (55) than in the four previous years combined ... Seth Thibodeaux won the second most games in a coach's inaugural season ... Jeremy HIll and Seth Webster were both named preseason first-team all-conference selections in 2012 ... Webster had the first sub-3.00 ERA for a Nicholls pitcher since 1997 ... Webster's seven wins in 2011 and his 109.1 innings pitched are the most for a Colonels pitcher since 2002 and 2003, respectively ... he was only the second pitcher in the last 16 years to toss more than 100 innings ... the Colonels return two everyday starters and five pitchers from the 2011 squad ... Blake Bergeron led the Colonels in RBI (57), doubles (10), triples (five) and home runs (five) ... Begeron finished fourth in the conference in triples, first in hits by pitches and 11th in RBI ... Webster earned first team all-SLC honors for the first time since Bubba Bell in 2005.
Northwestern State Notes: The Demons finished 22-32 overall last year and 11-21 in league play, which was 12th in the conference ... Northwestern was picked 10th by the league coaches and 11th by the SIDs in the conference's preseason polls ... head coach Jon Paul Davis is starting his fifth year as head coach and 12th at Northwestern State ... he was the Demon pitching coach from 2000-07 before being promoted to head coach for the 2008 season ... Northwestern eturns six position starters and five starting pitchers ... LHP/DH Colin Bear returns for his senior season after leading the Demon offense in all three Triple Crown categories last season (.340, 5 HR, 41 RBI) ... LHP Mason Melotakis has been named the league's top Major League Baseball Draft prospect by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper ... Melotakis led Northwestern with five saves in 2011 and compiled a 3.98 ERA with 45 strikeouts to 18 walks in 24 appearances ... the Demons' top four hitters from last season return ... Bear hit .340, followed by Nick Hinojos (.309), Will Watson (.305) and Drew Helenihi (.293) ... Joe Scanio, who came of the bullpen in 18 games last year and started two, finished the season with a perfect 6-0 record and 1.65 ERA ... he is projected to be in the starting weekend rotation ... the Demons open the season with four consecutive 3-game weekend series at home.
Sam Houston State Notes: The Bearkats finished 35-24 overall and 17-16 to finish fifth in the Southland Conference in Mark Johnson's final season as head coach ... taking over is nine-year Rice assistant David Pierce, who inherits a team the Southland coaches picked to finish fifth in their preseason poll ... the SIDs tabbed Sam Houston for a sixth-place finish ... only 16 of 31 lettermen return from last year's team ... 3B Kevin Miller, OF Greg Olson and C John Hale are the only returning starters in the field ... Sam Houston lost five All-Southland Conference performers to graduation ... two starting pitchers who return for the Bearkats in 2012 are sophomore left-handers Caleb Smith (4-3, 3.18 ERA) and Cody Dickson (4-1, 4.34 ERA) ... the 2012 Sam Houston baseball team has plenty of newcomers with 11 freshmen and 11 transfers among the 35 players on the roster ... three Bearkats were selected in last year's Major League Baseball draft ... pitchers Brent Powers and Matt Shelton went to the Oakland A's in the 18th round and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 24th round, respectively ... DH Chris Andreas went to the Seattle Mariners in the 39th round ... Sam Houston's second-round loss in the conference tournament ended the longest win streak in tournament history ... from 2007-11, Sam Houston won 13 consecutive games earning titles in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Southeastern Louisiana Notes: The Lions finished with a 35-22 overall record and 18-14 in the Southland for a fourth-place finish ... Southeastern was tabbed for a second-place finish by the league's coaches and a third-place finish by league SIDs ... on offense, the Lions must replace three of the top six players in school history in career hits and career RBI as well as three of the top 10 in career runs scored ... on the mound, the Lions must replace the production of Brandon Efferson who finished his career with the most innings pitched in school history (303.2), the second most wins (24) and seventh highest strikeout total (235) ... Jason Greenleaf's 26 appearances last season were the third-highest total in school history ... the Lions' roster features 17 newcomers ... Southeastern dropped its last three games of the 2011 season ... Wade Miley is the first former Lion coached by Jay Artigues to make it to the major leagues ... as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks, he was teammates of former Southland Conference players Paul Goldschmidt (Texas State) and Ryan Roberts (Texas-Arlington) ... the Lions will host a pair of Southeastern Conference schools coached by former Southland head coaches ... John Cohen (Mississippi State) and Mitch Gaspard (Alabama) are both former Northwestern State head coaches.
Stephen F. Austin Notes: The Lumberjacks finished 37-23 overall and finished second in the Southland with a 20-13 mark, four games behind Texas State, a team it faced in the championship game of last year's conference tournament ... the league's coaches picked SFA to finish third in their preseason poll, while the Southland SIDs tabbed the Lumberjacks to finish second ... SFA is coming off a program-best 37 wins in 2011 ... the Lumberjacks have increased their win total in each of the past three seasons under Johnny Cardenas, who is entering his fourth season as head coach ... SFA will return 2010 all-conference slugger Bobby Loveless, who missed 2011 due to injury but hit .355 with eight home runs and 50 RBI as a junior ... last season, SFA led the Southland in both team ERA (3.57) and batting average (.301), but ranked last in team fielding (.956) ... Jarid Scarafiotti, who earned preseason first-team all-conference honors at catcher, enters his senior season with 156 career hits, ranking fifth all-time at SFA ... Scarafiotti finished second on the team in batting average, hitting .350 and drove in 45 runs with a .473 slugging percentage ... SS Hunter Dozier and DH Bobby Loveless were tabbed as preseason second-team all-conference honorees ... SFA will take on six teams that qualified for the NCAA tournament, with two of those teams - Texas and Texas A&M - who went on to appear in the College World Series.
UT Arlington Notes: The Mavericks finished 27-29 overall last year and 15-18 as one of three teams to tie for seventh in conference play ... UTA was picked to finish eighth in both the coaches and SID preseason polls ... UTA returns four players who started at least 45 games last year: Ryan Walker (56), Preston Beck (55), Jordan Vaughn (50) and Philip Incaviglia (46) ... last year, Walker became the fourth UTA player to be named Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team. He led team with 43 runs and 37 RBI, and ranked second in batting average (.322), hits (76), doubles (13), stolen bases (11) and on-base percentage (.387) ... Walker is the Mavericks' lone preseason all-conference selection, earning first-team honors at shortstop ... junior Lance Day returns on the mound for the Mavericks ... he led the team in innings pitched (97.0), wins (4) and strikeouts (64) last year ... the Mavericks picked up five wins over nationally ranked teams last year and have won 14 during head coach Darin Thomas' four seasons ... the Mavericks have posted four consecutive seasons with a winning home record, going 69-47 (.595) during that time ... 15 of the 35 players on the roster are freshmen or sophomores and 27 of the 35 have fewer than two years of Division I experience heading into the season ... UTA will play a total of five games against four teams from the Big 12: Baylor (2), Texas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M.
UTSA Notes: The Roadrunners finished 27-32 overall and 16-17 in league play, good enough for sixth in the Southland last season ... UTSA was fourth in both the coaches and SID preseason polls ... head coach Sherman Corbett returns for his 12th season at the helm of the Roadrunners ... he is UTSA's all-time winningest coach with 331 victories ... UTSA returns 18 letterwinners, including seven pitchers and six starting positional players ... third-team all-Southland selection Ryan Dalton returns at third base for the Roadrunners ... he has racked up 27 home runs and 100 RBI in his first two seasons at UTSA ... freshman All-American Riley Good returns in left field for the Roadrunners ... he ranked third among the nation's freshmen with 86 hits a year ago and set program frosh records in hits and stolen bases (16 of 24) ... utility man Casey Selsor, who was placed on the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award Watch List last season, returns for his senior season ... the Roadrunners welcome 13 newcomers for 2012, including sophomore transfer John Welborn, who was an all-region selection after hitting over .400 and stealing 36 bases at Paris JC last year ... UTSA will play 34 of its 55 games in the Alamo City this season, including a four-team classic (with Gonzaga, Kansas and Louisiana-Lafayette) at Wolff Stadium in early March ... among the 21 away games, the Roadrunners will travel to Baylor, Dallas Baptist, Houston, Rice and Texas A&M.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Notes: The Islanders finished the 2011 season with a 37-24 record overall and 19-14 in league play to earn a third-place finish in the Southland ... A&M-Corpus Christi was picked to finish seventh in the preseason polls selected by the coaches and SIDs ... the 37 wins were a school record ... the Islanders return their top two relievers from a year ago, with Michael Boyle compiling seven saves, and Philly Garcia totaling six while setting the career mark for saves as an Islander ... Adam Hoelscher will move from the bullpen into the No. 1 starter spot to begin the year ... the Islanders will have an overhauled starting rotation, with the first five starts of the year going to three newcomers and two relievers ... the team will feature 18 newcomers, including eight freshmen and eight transfers ... of the 35 players on the roster, the Islanders feature 11 freshmen, 10 true freshmen and three redshirt freshmen, 12 juniors and 11 seniors, but just one sophomore ... the first game of the year for the Islanders will also be the first ever under the lights at Chapman Field, with the school recently completing an extensive renovation, adding lights and nearly 700 addition seats, along with a new playing surface and drainage system for the field.
Texas State Notes: The Bobcats finished 41-23 overall and won its third consecutive Southland Conference championship with a 24-9 record ... Texas State also won the conference tournament for the fourth time in school history, but its first since 2000 ... the Bobcats are the overwhelming favorite by the league coaches and SIDs to win their fourth consecutive regular-season championship this year ... no team has ever won four consecutive regular-season titles ... the Bobcats are ranked No. 35 in the Collegiate Baseball preseason poll and received votes in the NCBWA preseason poll ... head coach Ty Harrington returns for his 13th season ... he has a 416-297 record since taking over the program ... Texas State return six position starters, including 2011 All-American Casey Kalenkosky and 2009 All-American Tyler Sibley ... Kalenkosky ranked sixth in the nation and set a school single-season record with 21 home runs last year ... Kalenkosky, who earned first-team all-conference accolades and was the MVP of the Southland tournament, also led the team with 17 doubles and 69 RBI while posting a .327 batting average, 59 runs scored and six stolen bases ... the team returns two weekend starters and 10 pitchers overall from last year's team ... current Bobcats accounted for 83 percent of the team's home runs in 2011 ... Texas State will play five teams that qualified for NCAA tournament last season and two - Texas and Texas A&M - which went on to the College World Series.
