Coach's scheduling has helped the Bearkats
5/30/2013 7:41:00 AM | Baseball
NCAA Baton Rouge Regional Tournament Central
Link to complete information about regional action
Back-to-back NCAA Division I baseball appearances by Sam Houston State as an at-large selection each of the past two years were not happenstance.
When the Bearkats face Louisiana-Lafayette in their Baton Rouge regional opener Friday at 7 p.m., the appearance will be the result of a lesson SHSU head coach David Pearce learned during his nine years as an assistant at Rice.
Though Sam Houston has won the Southland Conference regular season title each of the last two years, the Bearkats left their post-season fate in the selection committee's hands by losing in the conference post-season tournament.
But a solid RPI came to the team's rescue both years.
As an assistant at Rice, Pierce always joined veteran Owl head coach Wayne Graham in preparing the Owls' schedule.
“The first thing coach always asked me was what is their RPI,” Pierce said. “You have to build your resume. Our schedule is very tough and strategically planned to give ourselves a chance to earn an at-large bid.”
During the 2013 season, Sam Houston beat Rice twice, won its only game with Texas and split two games with both Houston and Texas A&M. The Bearkats also picked up victories over Connecticut, Louisiana-Monroe and Arkansas State.
Sam Houston ended the regular season with victories in five of six games against Southeastern Louisiana and Central Arkansas, the second and third-strongest RPI teams in the Southland.
“It's consistency. That's what we want to create to give ourselves the best opportunity to win every day,” Pierce said. “When you look at the body of work and you look at the entire season, it's based on a consistent season. So fortunately we did enough and the committee felt like we merited this at-large. We feel like we did as well.”
Last year, Sam Houston found an opportunity the first week of the season, taking two of three games from national power San Diego in Huntsville in a series that strengthened the Kats' 2012 RPI. Also, last year, SHSU proved they could back up their RPI in the post-season by eliminating host and No. 1 regional seed Rice from the Houston Regional.
The task is a tall one this year with LSU in the way in the Tigers' home stadium in Baton Rouge. The Bearkats' head coach trusts that his team has been tested throughout the season and will be ready for the challenge.
“Our team has to believe that we can, and I believe we do,” Pierce said. “We're going to have to play consistent baseball. We probably will need some breaks, especially if we have the opportunity to play LSU. They can hit, they can pitch and they can play defense.”
Pierce knows what a challenging environment the Bearkats will face at Alex Box Stadium.
“When I was at Rice, we had the opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament at LSU,” Pierce said. “It's a tremendous place to play with great fans who really know their baseball. We have to play our best brand of baseball. If we do that, we have a chance to advance.”
NCAA BATON ROUGE REGIONAL SCHEDULE (All times Central)
Friday, May 31
Game 1: No. 1 LSU vs. No. 4 Jackson State – 2 p.m.
Game 2: No. 2 Louisiana-Lafayette vs. No. 3 Sam Houston State – 7 p.m.
Saturday, June 1
Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser – 2 p.m.
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner – 7 p.m.
Sunday, June 2
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser – 2 p.m.
Game 6: Regional Championship Game: Game 5 winner vs. Game 4 winner – 7 p.m.
Monday, June 3 (if necessary)
Game 7: Second Regional Championship Game: Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser – 7 p.m.
