SHSU at NWLA series starts Saturday
3/12/2015 3:19:00 PM | Baseball
Sam Houston and Northwestern State will put their perfect Southland records on the line when they square off this weekend in Natchitoches, La. The Bearkats swept New Orleans before falling to Houston midweek while the Demons went 3-0 against Lamar before dropping Wednesday's game with Louisiana Tech.
The series was originally slated to get underway Friday night but the schedule had to be altered due to field conditions. The two teams will play a doubleheader Saturday starting at 2:00 p.m., with the series finale still scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS:
Friday: LHP Andrew Godail vs. RHP Adam Oller
Saturday: LHP Logan Boyd vs. RHP Josh Oller
Sunday: RHP Ryan Brinley vs. RHP Jeffrey Stovall
The Bearkats got great outings from their starting pitchers last weekend against New Orleans. Andrew Godail allowed just one hit through seven innings Friday night and Logan Boyd tossed his first career complete game shutout Saturday.
The offense heated up in a big way, outscoring the Privateers 26-6 during the series. Designated hitter Dylan Ebbs was a big part of the success. He was named the Southland Hitter of the Week after he went 8-for-15 with eight RBI last week.
Sam Houston lost 3-of-4 games to Northwestern State last season. The Demons took 2-of-3 in Huntsville before knocking the Kats out of the Southland tournament with a 4-1 victory.
It's no secret that Northwestern State is led by stellar starting pitching. The staff ace Adam Oller has a 2-1 record and a 1.93 ERA in a team-high 28 innings pitched. His brother Josh Oller is 3-0 this season with a 3.38 ERA in 26 2/3 innings. Jeffrey Stovall rounds out the rotation with a 2-1 record and a 3.00 ERA in 24 innings pitched.
The pitching staff as a whole sports a 3.27 ERA with just 33 walks to 106 strikeouts. Their 1.90 walks per nine innings is the best in the Southland. The Demons also have a league-leading three complete games this season.
Northwestern State is batting just .239 as a team but the Demons do have the second most doubles in the Southland. First baseman Chase Daughdrill leads the team with a .333 batting average, 21 hits and 14 runs scored. He also has the team lead in extra-base hits with four doubles, two triples and two homers. Including Daughdrill, six different Demons have started all 17 games.
