Pivotal series at Lamar this weekend
4/16/2014 9:43:00 PM | Baseball
The Sam Houston baseball team hits the road for another crucial three-game league series this weekend. The Bearkats (25-12, 9-6 SLC) take on Lamar (22-15, 8-7 SLC) starting Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The second game of the series is scheduled for Friday at 6:30 p.m. and the finale Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY: RHP Jason Simms (3-2, 2.08 ERA) vs. RHP Will Hibbs (4-1, 2.52 ERA)
SATURDAY: RHP Tyler Eppler (4-4, 3.59) vs. LHP Chase Angelle (2-4, 3.02 ERA)
SUNDAY: RHP Sam Odom (7-1, 1.62 ERA) vs. RHP J.T. Autrey (5-2, 2.62 ERA)
QUICK HITS
• After rising to the highest ranking in school history, 16th in the Baseball America Poll five weeks into the season, Sam Houston State fell out of the polls the following week after dropping four straight games on the road.
• SHSU started the season 10-1 for just the second time in school history, before losing to ranked Rice and Texas. The 1964 team posted wins over Rice, Texas, SMU, and TCU to get to 10-1. The 16-4 start was the best ever at the Division I level. The 1980 SHSU squad, that competed in the NAIA playoffs, got out to a record of 21-3, winning 14 straight games at one point.
• Run production has come from all over this season. Eight Kats have driven in at least 10 runs while Anthony Azar has the team lead with 32. Ryan O'Hearn (28), Colt Atwood (27), Hayden Simerly (19), Carter Burgess (15), Ryan Farney (15), Corey Toups (15) and Luke Plucheck (13) are the others.
• The Bearkats' 8-1 win over No. 22 Texas A&M was the fourth this season over a ranked opponent. Sam Houston has also beaten No. 10 Rice, No. 12 TCU and No. 26 Texas Tech. SHSU lost to No. 15 Texas and No. 12 Houston in other ranked matchups.
• David Pierce's SHSU team has compiled 12 wins over ranked opponents in his three seasons at the helm. Five of those wins have come against the Rice Owls.
• The Kats dropped a 5-2 decision to No. 12 Houston after having won six straight games, the longest winning streak of the season.
GAME NOTES
SENIOR BACKSTOP DOES IT ALL
Anthony Azar leads the team in batting average (.368), slugging (.609), on-base percentage (.444), RBI (32), home runs (8) and extra-base hits (15). Those numbers put him at or near the top in the Southland this season. Azar is also managing a pitching staff that has the best ERA (2.52) in the Southland and one of the tops in the nation. The Woodlands product has thrown out 15 runners this year which also leads the Southland. With just seven strikeouts in 133 at bats he is one of the toughest players in the nation to strikeout.
FRESHMEN PITCHERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Sam Odom and Dylan Ebbs haven't let the transition to Division I baseball rattle them. Odom is a member of the weekend rotation and leads the team with seven wins. He is one of just three freshman in the nation with as many as seven wins. Odom is second on the team with 50 innings logged in 10 appearances. Ebbs has made three midweek starts, winning the first two and maintaining a 1.23 ERA in 29 1/3 innings pitched. Opponents are batting just .205 off of Ebbs in his nine appearances.
FROM CLOSER TO STARTER
After logging nearly 60 career innings of relief and recording 13 saves, Jason Simms made his first career start on the mound against No. 22 Texas A&M and earned himself a spot in the weekend rotation. The senior allowed just one run in five innings of work and picked up the win. The Argyle product gave up just three hits and issued only one walk. In his third start he tossed his first complete game, picking up the win over Oral Roberts. Simms has an impressive 2.08 ERA , 24 strikeouts and just eight walks in 39 innings pitched this season. He has allowed just one extra-base hit this season, a double
HUMAN HIGHLIGHT REEL
Senior left fielder Luke Plucheck has always been known among Bearkat fans for his defense. As a sophomore Plucheck made his ESPN SportsCenter Top-10 debut with a great diving catch. This season the Tomball product has been featured a stunning three times on ESPN's top plays. While at the Houston College Classic, Plucheck made cameo appearances as the number two and number three plays on consecutive days of ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10. His most recent highlight reel catch was against Cal State Northridge at Don Sanders Stadium.
HOUSTON COLLEGE CLASSIC PUTS SHSU IN THE SPOTLIGHT
The Bearkats' performance at the Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park brought national attention to Sam Houston State. The underdog Kats defeated No. 12 TCU, 9-4, Friday and No. 26 Texas Tech, 10-6, Saturday. SHSU starting pitcher Tyler Eppler out dueled TCU's Brandon Finnegan, who is projected to be a first round MLB draft pick. Saturday the Kats exploded for three home runs against Tech. No. 15 Texas narrowly edged SHSU, 3-2, on Sunday after the Kats had scored two first-inning runs. With the performance, the baseball team made its earliest debut in the Division I national rankings in school history.
BACK ON TRACK WITH SERIES WIN AT ORU
After back-to-back Southland series losses, including being swept at Central Arkansas, the Bearkats got back to winning ways at Oral Roberts. Sam Houston dropped Friday's game but rallied for wins both Saturday and Sunday to take the series. Jason Simms put together a complete-game effort to lead the Kats to a 2-1 victory in game two. Third baseman Carter Burgess was the offensive catalyst, scoring both runs in the game. Reliever Sam Odom pitched seven innings in relief and was backed up by a five-run sixth inning in Sunday's series-clincher.
FIRST CAREER WIN
Sam Houston starting pitcher Dirk Masters compiled an 0.64 ERA through his first 28 1/3 innings pitched but just picked up his first win in his fifth start of the season. The sophomore righty had allowed just two earned runs and opposing batters were hitting just .204 off of him. Other than a little tough luck, Masters' 16 walks to 15 strikeouts made it tough for him to pick up a win. The Angleton product tossed five innings in each of his first three career starts, allowing just one run to Dallas Baptist. In his winning performance against New Orleans he didn't issue a single free pass.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION NETS SOUTHLAND HITTER OF THE WEEK
Azar blasted three home runs and drove in nine runs to help Sam Houston State sweep New Orleans to open conference play. The senior provided the game-winning run for the Bearkats in the series opener with a solo home run in the fifth inning to lead Sam Houston to a 6-3 win. In the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, Azar hit a three-run shot in the third inning to tie the game before hitting an eighth-inning grand slam in the Bearkats' 14-4 win. Azar had at least one RBI in all four games this week. He closed out the week with a .389 (7-for-18) batting average with three home runs, 10 RBI and three runs scored.
FIRST COMPLETE GAME EARNS SOUTHLAND PITCHER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Friday night starter Tyler Eppler was name the Southland Pitcher of the Week after he tossed his first career complete-game. The junior righthander gave up just three hits in the shutout. Eppler struck out one and walked just one in his nine-inning performance. The righthander induced 15 fly outs and nine ground outs while keeping his pitch count under 100. Friday's complete game came just a week after shutting down the nationally ranked TCU Horned Frogs for six scoreless innings. Eppler improved to 3-1 on the season and lowered his ERA to 1.48. Eppler was the Kats midweek starter as a sophomore in 2013 and picked up wins over Houston, Rice and Texas.
TWO-HOMER GAME GARNERS LEAGUE HITTER OF THE WEEK
First baseman Ryan O'Hearn is the first Sam Houston player to hit two homers in a game since the 2011 season. O'Hearn blasted the first pitch he saw for a homer against No. 26 Texas Tech in the Houston College Classic and his second long ball provided the winning runs in the sixth inning. He also narrowly missed hitting a grand slam, but did drive in a run with a sacrifice fly. O'Hearn was named the Southland Conference's Hitter of the Week for his performances. Former Kat DH Chris Andreas hit two in an 8-5 win over No. 6 Texas A&M in College Station, April 26, 2011. Andreas hit a first inning homer and a 12th inning game-winning blast. He also hit two homers against Nebraska earlier that year.
BRINLEY SHUTS DOWN NO. 10 RICE TO LAND CONFERENCE HONORS
Pitcher Ryan Brinley picked up his first career win after starting and tossing seven innings against No. 10 Rice at Reckling Park. He allowed just one run on two hits while striking out two Owls. The sophomore returned to the mound that weekend in relief against No. 15 Texas. He came into the game with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth and got out of the jam before pitching a scoreless ninth to give the Kats a chance to get back in the game.
AZAR WILLING TO MAKE SACRIFICES FOR TEAM
The preseason Southland Conference Player of the Year, catcher Anthony Azar had a slow start at the plate in 2014. But that doesn't mean he didn't find ways to contribute. The senior dropped down the first sacrifice bunt of his career in the seventh inning of the series-clinching win over Dallas Baptist back in February. With the Kats leading just 2-1 with runners on first and second and nobody out Azar got the bunt down to advance the runners. After an intentional walk to load the bases, shortstop Carter Burgess delivered a single to left to score both runners and extend the lead to 4-1.
KATS BOUNCE BACK AGAINST AGGIES
The Bearkats were looking to rebound from four straight losses when they travelled to No. 22 Texas A&M for a midweek game. They did that in a big way as they beat the Aggies 8-1. Jason Simms, making his first career start, allowed just one run in five innings. Catcher Anthon Azar led off the second with a home run and sparked a four-run inning by the Kats. First baseman Ryan O'Hearn finished the game 3-for-4 with 3 RBI. The bullpen picked up where Simms left off and kept the Aggies off the board. Andrew Godail, Sam Odom, Seth Holbert, Alan Scott and Logan Boyd combined to pitch the final four frames.
KATS SPLIT REGULAR-SEASON SERIES WITH RANKED RICE
It took just three runs to take down the Owls behind Ryan Brinley's seven-inning gem at Reckling Park, Feb. 25. Sam Houston won 3-1, for their fourth straight win over Rice and the sixth in the last eight games between the two schools. Brinley allowed just two hits while striking out two Rice Owl batters. The return game, March 5, at Don Sanders Stadium didn't go as well. SHSU committed five errors and lost 8-5. Four unearned runs crossed the plate in the game and Logan Boyd was credited with the loss. The loss snapped the Kats four-game winning streak against the Owls.
BACK-TO-BACK SOUTHLAND CHAMPIONS & NCAA REGIONAL APPEARANCES
The expectations are high for the Bearkats, who return several key players from squads that have played in NCAA Regionals the last two seasons. The combined 78 wins under head coach David Pierce is the second-most in school history behind the 89 wins from 1986 to 1987. After winning the school's first Southland regular-season title since 1989, the team went back-to-back for the first time ever. A program that had placed teams in the NCAA Regionals for three consecutive seasons, from 2007-2009, the Kats had never been an at-large selection until 2012. Sam Houston has now had a team in the regionals five of the last seven seasons.
TWO-TIME COACH OF THE YEAR
After guiding the Bearkats to a second consecutive regular-season title, Sam Houston's David Pierce repeated as the Southland coach of the year. Sam Houston finished 20-7 in conference play and was selected to the NCAA Regionals for the second straight year. The Kats picked up big non-conference wins over Baylor, Houston, Rice, Texas, and Texas A&M. Pierce is the first Southland coach to win consecutive honors since Texas-San Antonio's Sherman Corbett (2007-08).
SIX ON PRESEASON ALL-SOUTHLAND TEAM
Six Kats are members of the Southland's preseason all-conference team. Catcher Anthony Azar and outfielder Luke Plucheck are first-team members, while second baseman Ryan Farney, shortstop Corey Toups, third baseman Carter Burgess and outfielder Colt Atwood were all named to the second team. Azar was predicted by Baseball America as the preseason favorite to be the 2014 Southland Conference Player of the Year.
