Kleberg Bank College Classic this weekend
2/19/2015 9:25:00 AM | Baseball
The Sam Houston State baseball team hits the road for the Kleberg Bank College Classic in Corpus Christi, February 20-22. The weekend tournament will be played at Whataburger Field, the home of the Corpus Christi Hooks.
The Bearkats will return to Whataburger Field for the first time since winning the 2009 Southland Conference Tournament there. In addition to the Bearkats and host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, the field will feature teams from the Southeastern Conference and the Big 10 Conference.
The Kats will open with Missouri Friday, Feb. 20 at 3 p.m. and will play a doubleheader with Purdue Saturday starting at 11 a.m. The Kats will finish against the Islanders Sunday at 3 p.m. SHSU and A&M-Corpus will meet again later in the season when the Islanders make the trip to Huntsville for a three-game series, May 1-3.
The Bearkats (4-1) will meet Missouri (4-0) for just the third time ever with the series split 1-1. The Tigers won 4-2 in 1986 in Missouri, while the Bearkats won 5-3 in 1966 in a tournament in Edinburg, Texas. SHSU and Purdue (1-2) have never played on the baseball field.
Sam Houston has won eight of the last 11 against A&M-Corpus Christi (3-0), including a three-game sweep last season in the regular-season finale at Don Sanders Stadium.
PROBABLE WEEKEND ROTATION
FRIDAY: LHP Andrew Godail (0-0, 1.93 ERA)
SATURDAY (GAME 1): RHP Sam Odom (0-1, 4.50 ERA)
SATURDAY (GAME 2): LHP Logan Boyd (1-0, 1.50 ERA)
SUNDAY: RHP Dylan Ebbs (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Missouri swept a four-game series against Iona, outscoring the Gaels a combined 25-8. The Tigers are hitting .295 as a team and have a 1.85 staff ERA. First baseman Zach Lavy leads the Tigers offensively with a .444 average, eight hits, four runs scored and two RBI.
The Kats will likely face the reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week, Reggie McClain. After the opening weekend he leads the SEC in innings (8.0), strikeouts (10), walks allowed (0), pickoffs (2) and is third among SEC starters in opponent batting average.
Purdue lost two games on the road at Western Carolina to open the season. The Boilermakers gave up 41 runs in the three-game series with the Catamounts. Purdue is hitting .314 as a team and averaged just over six runs a game in the series.
Sam Houston will face a pair of right-handed starting pitchers on Saturday, senior Brett Haan and sophomore Brian Ghiselli. Haan allowed seven runs in 2 2/3 innings in his first start of the season. Ghiselli only pitched in relief last week, allowing four runs in 2 1/3 innings.
A&M-Corpus Christi will have a similar look to last season. The Islanders, who swept Saint Peter's to open the season, return all three members of their weekend rotation as well as their closer. A&M-Corpus batted .348 as a team in the series with the Peacocks while the pitching staff compiled a 1.80 ERA.
The Islanders' Devin Skapura is slated to start in the finale Sunday. He allowed three runs in five innings in his first start of the season. He faced the Kats in the regular-season finale last season, allowing six runs in 5 2/3 innings, though only one of the runs was earned.
Tournament package pricing starts at $24 for adults and $12 for youth ages 4-12. Daily ticket pricing holds at $10 and $5. Children 3-and-under are free. Tickets can be purchased at cchooks.com or by calling 361-561-HOOK (4665).
