Bearkats travel to Rice Tuesday
4/3/2012 8:50:00 AM | Baseball
For nine years, Pierce was an assistant coach under Owl baseball legend Wayne Graham.
"I'm not going to say it's just another Tuesday game," Pierce said Monday. He returns to Reckling Park for the first time since leaving to take the Sam Houston job. "I have so many memories and so many friends there it's going to be kind of special. Being at Rice as an assistant is something I will always cherish."
The Bearkats enter the contest with an eight-game winning streak, the program's third longest since moving up to the NCAA Division I level in 1987. Start time is set for 6:30 p.m.
Rice is 21-9, the team's best record through 30 games since a 23-7 ledger in 2009. That 2009 Owl squad began the year 23-7 on the way to a 43-18 season that included the C-USA Tournament Championship and NCAA Regional Championship. The 21-9 record is Rice's second-best mark overall in the last six years.
The Kats are 19-9 for the season and lead the Southland Conference with a 10-2 mark. They have swept their last two league series. The sweep over Texas State was the first over the Bobcats since 1989. Sam Houston outscored UTSA 40-9 in three games this past weekend.
"Earning a national ranking is a compliment to the team and shows the pollsters around the country are paying attention," Pierce said. "But's it's still early in the conference race. We have some big games to play."
Following the Rice game Tuesday, the second place team in the Southland Conference, Northwestern State, visits Don Sanders Stadium. The Bearkats and the Demons will battle in a three-game series that begins Thursday night at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets for all Sam Houston State home baseball games are available for purchase on line at www.gobearkats.com/tickets or at the SHSU 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.
Texas Farm Bureau members may pick up two free tickets to any SHSU home baseball or softball game simply by showing proof of membership at the SHSU ticket office.
