Bearkats eager for challenge at regional
5/31/2013 7:04:00 AM | Baseball
This time last year, a green group of Bearkats were getting their first dose of NCAA tournament baseball.
This time around, with a little more experience under their belts, the Bearkats are ready to go into one of the toughest environments in college baseball when the NCAA Baseball Tournament gets under way today at Alex Box Stadium.
Following today's first game between No. 4 national seed LSU and Jackson State, Sam Houston State will square off against Louisiana-Lafayette at 7 p.m. The Bearkats believe they can hang with the powerful Ragin' Cajuns, then take their best shot at LSU.
“Last year (in the Houston Regional) we kind of turned some heads, making it to the finals against Arkansas and knocked Rice out,” Bearkats third baseman Kevin Miller said Thursday afternoon. “I mean, nobody is expecting us to make it to the finals, but we're trying to turn some heads like we did last year.
“Hopefully, we'll go a little farther than we did last year.”
In the Houston Regional at Rice's Reckling Park last spring, the Bearkats nearly upset Arkansas in the opener and went on to eliminate Prairie View A&M and the Owls before getting knocked out by the Razorbacks, who advanced all the way to the College World Series.
Over the past year, Sam Houston State has readied itself for another opportunity in the NCAA regionals.
“We didn't get in how we wanted to (losing the conference tournament and having to rely on getting into the NCAA tournament as an at-large selection), but we're here and we're thankful for that,” Miller said.
“The guys who were here last year know what to expect. We're trying to come out and win a couple of games and get into the finals.”
While the Bearkats enter the Baton Rouge Regional with some valuable experience, the Ragin' Cajuns lack in that department with no players having NCAA tournament experience.
Early tonight, Louisiana-Lafayette coach Tony Robichaux will get a good read on his players and see how they react and respond.
“This is the first game of the regional. The key is who's going to play the loosest the earliest and not play too tight and all of a sudden the game gets away from you and you get loosened up,” Robichaux said. “Hopefully, we can get loose from the get-go.”
The Bearkats (37-20 overall) had to shake up their starting pitching rotation during the final conference series and in the conference tournament in the past few weeks. Sam Houston coach David Pierce has decided to go with junior lefthander Cody Dickson (9-5, 4.33 earned run average) for today's contest, then throw junior lefthander Caleb Smith (7-5, 3.23) on Saturday against either LSU or Jackson State.
“We'll start Cody Dickson,” Pierce said. “He's been our number one, but as of late, we've gone (Tyler) Eppler, Dickson, Smith because we had a rain delay at Southeastern Louisiana (May 10-12) and then we had the early start at the (conference) tournament. Now because of rest, we're back at our original rotation.”
Dickson, who had a few rough outings in April, has turned things around in May. Prior to his outing against Southeastern Louisiana in the Southland Conference tournament in which he gave up five runs on eight hits in 6 2/3 innings, Dickson hadn't given up a run in five outings (26 innings), including three starts.
“It's exciting,” Dickson said. “I'm glad to start that first game. We did well last year in our regional, though we wish we would've done a little better starting off. Everyone here is excited and ready to play and I'm ready to go out there and start this off. We plan on getting a W to start off this regional.”
Louisiana-Lafayette (41-18) is going with its No. 2 pitcher Ryan Wilson, a junior lefthander, and saving ace Austin Robichaux (8-2, 3.20) for Saturday's contest. In 11 starts, Wilson is 6-4 with a 3.35 ERA.
“We just think a lefty matches up well against them,” the Cajuns coach said of the Bearkats. “Some of their best hitters are lefties and we just feel he matches up well with lefties best. We think he's been throwing real well. We like Austin in the second slot and we like (Cody) Boutte in the third slot.”
Offensively, the Bearkats rely on timely hitting, along with their quickness and aggression on the base paths. Miller leads the team with 72 hits (63 singles) and a .338 batting average. Catcher Anthony Azar has driven in the most runs (45) for the Bearkats. Left fielder Luke Plucheck has stolen 11 of 15 bases, center fielder Colt Atwood is 9 of 10 in that category and Azar and first baseman Jessie Plumlee have swiped five and four, respectively.
“I think it's going to be a good game,” Louisiana-Lafayette third baseman Tyler Girouard said. “Our coaches told us they've got some good arms and just that they play the game the same way we do. They don't give up. They're going to play the game hard and play it right.”
The Cajuns, on the other hand, are one of the most prolific offense in the country with a .323 batting average that is tied for second-best in the nation. Of Louisiana-Lafayette's starters, eight of them hit better than .300 for the season. The Cajuns lead all NCAA Division I teams with 72 home runs.
“They're the best lineup on paper that I've seen this year,” Pierce said. “I think they're leading the country in home runs. They do the little things offensively as well. They run the bases and one through nine can bunt. They're going to be a very tough challenge.”
The winner of tonight's game will play in the winners' bracket at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Whichever team loses plays in an elimination game Saturday at 2 p.m.
NCAA Baton Rouge Regional Tournament Central
Link to complete information about regional action
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.
