D1Baseball spotlights Bearkat freshmen, pitchers
2/3/2016 6:15:00 PM | Baseball
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Five Sam Houston State baseball players, including four pitchers, were recognized by D1Baseball.com on Tuesday, including a pair as top 2016 Southland Conference MLB Draft prospects. Three others were spotlight among a list of 10 impact freshmen on the subscription-based website.
Right-handed pitchers Sam Odom and Jordan Church were listed among 20 of the league's top prospects in this year's draft. Meanwhile, right-handed freshmen Riley Gossett and Riley McKnight joined shortstop Andrew Fregia as key newcomers.
“They aren't real volatile and by that I mean they aren't just a bunch of big arms,” second-year head coach Matt Deggs said of the pitching staff. “They can locate and will be very efficient in holding runners and fielding their position to keep us in the game. When you get in those weekend tilts, you've got to be able to match zeroes and I think we'll have a pitching staff who can do so.”
A season ago, the Bearkats boasted a 3.05 ERA in league pay over 260 innings, although Logan Boyd and Andrew Godail, currently in professional baseball, accounted for over 160 innings of work. In their places step Odom and Church alongside JUCO transfers Cody Brown, Heath Donica and Dakota Mills.
“I think collectively, they will be an efficient group,” Deggs said. “They pound the strike zone and are able to located more than one pitch. I think Sam Odom will headline that. Church had a strong finish to last season as did Greg Belton. For as young as we are offensively, we have a little age to us on the mound.”
Meanwhile, Gossett, who helped lead Cy-Ranch High School to a 6-A state championship, has a strong ability to locate his fastball and is expected to find a role in the bullpen. The 6-foot-1 freshman says the transition to the college game has been a good one.
“Preseason practices can be tough but Coach Deggs breaks it down for you,” Gossett said. “With a group of guys like this, we can get it done. We fit together perfectly. We're a group of guys that can love the game. When I was going through personal things, those guys all had my back.”
As the lone positional Bearkat player representative by D1Baseball.com, Fregia has received high praise from Deggs, who touts the Liberty product as the shortstop of the future, although with the Kats current makeup, he is expected to see time at third base.
“Our freshmen class is very talented,” Deggs said. “They are driven and Andrew is right up there. He was one of our top recruits coming into Sam Houston. He was the first guy I went and sat at his house. He can hit, run and is an exciting player. Most of these freshmen possess the same skillset.”
As a senior at Liberty High School, the 6-foot freshman hit .585, earning all-district status in baseball in addition to competing in basketball, football, track and golf.
“It's been a learning experience since I showed up,” Fregia said. “It's great to be out here with 38 other people that like to work like I do. It's overwhelming really to see everything come into place. We're form-fitting like a family. We walk to class with 16 or 17 people with each other. It's a big benefit.”
Sam Houston begins play two weeks from Friday with a three-game set at No. 6 Louisiana-Lafayette. The Bearkats home opener is Feb. 23 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).
