Baseball Banquet & Auction a hit for program
2/17/2016 3:36:00 PM | Baseball, Bearkat Champions Fund
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One year removed from a record breaking event, the Sam Houston State Baseball banquet and auction once again netted around $100,000 raised with the program ready to open the highly-anticipated 2016 season on Friday at Louisiana-Lafayette.
“We're extremely grateful for key fund-raising events like this, which help showcase and celebrate the work by our coaches, student-athletes and staff,” Athletic Director Bobby Williams said. “Our future success is dependent upon the involvement of our supporters and once again those individuals showed their commitment to the baseball program and athletic department.”
The event featured a strong push to fund the enclosing of the baseball and softball batting cages, allowing for the heating and cooling of the facility with year-round usage.
Those in attendance were introduced to the current Bearkats, including 29 newcomers who are expected the challenge for Opening Day roster spots. The six-member senior class was also introduced and sat on-stage offering an entertaining back-and-forth dialogue.
“Our program is blessed to have so many wonderful individuals in our corner,” second-year head coach Matt Deggs said. “We are thankful for those who helped enhance the experience of our players by attending, providing auction items and donating. We can't wait to see everyone at the ballpark this spring.”
Five Sam Houston players, including four pitchers were recognized by D1Baseball.com among the Southland Conference's best this preseason. Right-handed pitchers Sam Odom and Jordan Church were listed among 20 of the league's top prospects in this year's MLB draft. Meanwhile, right-handed freshmen Riley Gossett and Riley McKnight joined shortstop Andrew Fregia as league's No. 2, 3 and 4 impact freshmen.
The Bearkats home opener is next Tuesday against UTSA and marks the start of seven straight at Don Sanders Stadium including visits from No. 25 Texas Tech (Feb. 24), No. 21 Oklahoma (Feb. 26-28), Baylor (March 1) and No. 25 Rice (March 2).
Season tickets ($99 general admission/$200 reserved) and single-game seats are currently on sale by calling (936) 294-1729 or visiting GoBearkats.com. Single-game tickets are $8 reserved and $6 general admission for all games except the Oklahoma series ($12/$10) and Texas Tech/Rice matchups ($10/$8).
The upcoming season also marks the first with the new 183,040-square foot AstroTurf playing surface at Don Sanders Stadium. The $1.4 million project took roughly 2 ½ months to complete thanks to the efforts of Burnside Services Incorporated (BSI) of Navasota, in conjunction with Ryan Sanders Sports Services of Round Rock.
