Kats resume Southland action Thursday at SFA
4/1/2015 5:25:00 PM | Baseball
Still in the hunt for a title in the 2015 Southland Conference race, Sam Houston travels to Nacogdoches for its second consecutive road weekend baseball series. The Bearkats will take on Stephen F. Austin in games Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The two rivals open the series at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Jaycees Field in Nacogdoches. Sam Houston stands 14-17 for the year while the Lumberjacks are 11-19. Friday's game will start at 2 p.m. and Saturday's series finale will have a 1 p.m. first pitch.
The Bearkats enter the fifth weekend of the Southland race with a 7-5 conference mark. The SHSU men have won five of their six league contests on their home field at Don Sanders Stadium but are 2-4 on the road.
Southeastern Louisiana stands atop the standings with a 9-3 mark. Northwestern State is a half-game behind at 8-3 and Central Arkansas is in third place with an 8-4. McNeese State and the Bearkats are two games behind the league leader. Stephen F. Austin enters Thursday's action ranked eighth in the league.
Led by Spence Rahm (.355), Dylan Ebbs (.324) and Jake MacWilliam (.318), Sam Houston ranks fourth in the Southland Conference in hitting this year with a .282 team batting average. Spence leads the team with 28 runs batted in, nine doubles and five home runs.
Other top hitters for the Bearkats are Collin Yelich (.305), Zach Smith (.288), Bryce Johnson (.281), Miles Manning (.274) and Colt Atwood (.266).
Wilson Hunter (.297) and Kyle Thornell (.286) lead Stephen F. Austin at the plate.
This weekend's games complete a seven-game road swing for Sam Houston. The Bearkats return to Don Sanders Stadium next week to host Northwestern State in a non-conference game on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. and to face Incarnate Word in a Southland series next Friday through Sunday, April 10-12.
