New Softball Video Board Debuts In Opener
2/18/2016 11:50:00 AM | Softball
The debut of the new state-of-the-art video/scoreboard will highlight the opening of Sam Houston's 11th season at the Bearkat Softball Complex Friday when the Kats play host to Prairie View A&M.
The Panthers and the Sam women duel in a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. The second game of the twin bill will start 30 minutes after the opening contest ends.
New video/scoreboards for the university's football, track and field, volleyball, basketball and softball facilities were installed during the summer and fall of 2015.
Jim and Tonya Ferris and Ann Wismer and Michael Landolt of the Wismer Distributing Company in Baytown, and Kurt Stevenson of Stevenson Beer Distributing Company in Trinity and Anheuser-Busch, have partnered with the SHSU Department of Athletics to make possible the addition of the video scoreboards.
The softball video board is 23 feet, 11.2 inches tall by 27 feet wide and includes a video screen. All three of the new boards will feature sponsor advertising opportunities to provide additional revenue for the Bearkat athletic program.
Sam Houston and Prairie View A&M both come into Friday's doubleheader looking for their first victories of the young 2016 season after playing challenging schedules in the first week of action.
The Bearkats lost to No. 24 ranked Texas A&M Wednesday in College Station and fell strong teams from Louisville, Iowa and A&M-Corpus Christi at the Islander Classic last weekend. Prairie View played in the Mardi Gras Classic in Monroe, La., against UL-Monroe, Stephen F. Austin and Seton Hall.
“You get better playing better teams,” Sam Houston head coach Bob Brock said. “With 13 newcomers and only nine returning players we're learning a lot about ourselves in these first opening games. We're excited about this team and what they can do this year.”
Freshman infielder Ashley Goetz boasts the top batting average for the Bearkats with a .385 mark in five games. She sports a .538 slugging percentage. A freshman led Prairie View last weekend as infielder Daneisha Hinton earned Mardi Gras Classic all-tournament honors.
The Bearkats own a record of 134 victories and only 79 losses at the Softball Complex during the first decade in the facility.
