Kats continue Southland play, visit Nicholls
3/23/2016 10:55:00 AM | Baseball
After catching their breath, to the tune of a season-18 hits in a 16-5 victory against undermanned Prairie View A&M on Tuesday night, the Bearkats know this weekend will not be as easy when the squad opens a three-game set Thursday night at Nicholls.
The 6 p.m. first pitch marks the third weekend of Southland Conference play and second on the road. Right-handed pitcher Sam Odom (1-0, 3.47 ERA) takes the hill for the Bearkats, looking to continue the squad's three-game winning streak that was highlighted by a pair of 2-1 victories against Northwestern State.
“Nicholls is always tough,” second-year head coach Matt Deggs said. “They are super well coached and they are really good at home. It's a long way over there. You get there and the wind is blowing in. It's a natural surface and it presents conditions that you better throw strikes and make the routine play.”
On Tuesday, the Bearkats (9-12 overall, 3-3 SLC) started a season-high six freshmen, doing so for the second time in eight games and received key production. Josh Biles belted his first career home run and Hunter Hearn matched a school record with two triples, the duo combining for seven RBIs and as many runs scored.
Among Sam Houston's 18 base knocks, 16 came from either freshmen or sophomores. Freshmen Colin Cameron and Jordan Cannon also tossed scoreless innings including Cameron who struck out the side.
“They are just scratching the surface,” Deggs said of the freshmen. “I thought they played really well in the fall. We took a step back at the beginning of the spring, but that had a lot to do with our schedule. We could have played this schedule (Prairie View A&M) early, but I don't think it would have prepared us for anything.
“I think we showed signs of things to come. You start to see them come on again and take steps forward. They are fun to dream on. They will be unbelievable down the road. We want to play our best baseball in April, May and June.”
The Colonels (10-11, 2-4 SLC) enter the weekend looking for their first Southland series win after dropping two of three at A&M-Corpus Christi. While Sam Houston has held opponents to a league-low eight stolen bases, Nicholls ranks second with 35 bags swiped.
Sam Houston center fielder Bryce Johnson ranks 10th in the conference in average (.384) and second in stolen bases (10) while left fielder Zach Smith is 13th in average (.374) and tied for third in doubles (7). Right-handed pitcher Heath Donica (2-2, 3.58 ERA), who will make the Saturday start, is third in opponent batting average (.203) while Sunday right-hander start Riley Gossett (2-0, 1.88 ERA) is eighth in earned run average.
The Bearkats will face a trio of Nicholls right-handers beginning with senior Justin Sinibaldi (2-2, 3.00 ERA) on Thursday. The Colonels will send junior Daniel Goff (0-0, 2.45 ERA) to the hill Friday and junior Cole Stapler (2-2, 3.08 ERA) on Saturday.
Sam Houston returns home Monday night at 6:30 p.m. to face former league foe Texas State. Tickets are available by calling the Bearkats ticket office at (936) 294-1729 or visiting GoBearkats.com.
