Kats to open 2018 vs Kent State
2/15/2018 6:19:00 PM | Baseball
Games 1-3
Friday, Feb. 16 – Sunday, Feb. 18 • Huntsville • Don Sanders Stadium
Sam Houston State (0-0, 0-0 SLC) vs. Kent State (0-0, 0-0 MAC) • Game Notes
Watch Game 1 (ESPN3) • Game 1 Live Stats • @BearkatsBSB on Twitter
Game 2 Live Stats • @BearkatsBSB on Twitter
Listen Game 3 (90.5 FM) • Game 3 Live Stats • @BearkatsBSB on Twitter
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS (2017 stats)
Game 1 • Friday, Feb. 16 • 6:30 p.m.
SHSU: Seth Ballew, LHP (6-3, 4.03 ERA, 73.2 IP, 60 K, 34 BB)
KENT: Eli Kraus, LHP (8-3, 2.69 ERA, 93.2 IP, 73 K, 21 BB)
Game 2 • Saturday, Feb. 17 • 3:00 p.m.
SHSU: Hayden Wesneski, RHP (10-2, 3.93 ERA, 84.2 IP, 47 K, 25 BB)
KENT: Joey Murray, RHP (6-1, 1.81 ERA, 75.0 IP, 110 K, 32 BB)
Game 3 • Sunday, Feb. 18 • 12:00 p.m.
SHSU: Dominic Robinson, LHP (1-0, 4.21 ERA, 36.1 IP, 36 K, 15 BB)
KENT: Jared Skolnicki, LHP (5-2, 3.71 ERA, 51.0 IP, 42 K, 16 BB)
HUNTSVILLE – After a historical 2017 season, the time has come to turn the page for the Sam Houston State Bearkats as the 2018 baseball season kicks off this weekend with a three-game set against Kent State at Don Sanders Stadium.
The Bearkats reeled off 44 wins on its way to a berth in the Tallahassee Super Regional a year ago and return 23 players off that squad, one which tied a program record in wins and became the first Southland Conference program in history to advance to a Super Regional.
The series will open Friday evening at The Don with the opener aired on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app with Sam Levitt on the call. Sunday's series finale will also be able to be heard on KSHU 90.5 FM, and fans can get live updates throughout the weekend by following along with live stats at SamHouston.Statbroadcast.com or by following @BearkatsBSB on Twitter.
Fans planning on attending are encouraged to park in lot on the west side – press box side – of Bowers Stadium upon entry to The Don. Those wishing to purchase tickets in advance can do so HERE.
The weekend will pit two of the most successful programs in the nation over the past decade with Kent State and Sam Houston having combined for 14 NCAA Regional appearances since 2007. The Golden Flashes have won either the regular season or tournament title in the MAC in 10 of the last 11 years and earned a berth in the College World Series in 2012.
Kent State will be making their first trip to the state of Texas since taking on Baylor in 2015 and are coming off a 37-18 season that saw them claim the MAC regular season championship. This will be the first-ever meeting between the schools on the diamond.
The Bearkats enter the 2017 as the preseason favorites to take the SLC crown, according to the annual preseason poll voted on by the league's coaches and SIDs. The Kats received 18 first-place votes and 282 total points in the vote to take the top spot, while Southeastern Louisiana claimed seven first-place votes and defending regular-season champion had one.
Sam Houston said farewell to five key pieces of last season's run, including staff ace and Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year Heath Donica, but returns a litany of arms at its disposal. Left-handed junior Seth Ballew punched out 60 batters last year and is set to get the ball on opening night, opposite KSU lefty Eli Kraus, a two-time all-MAC selection.
Last year's SLC Freshman of the Year Hayden Wesneski is coming off a season that saw him win 10 games in his first year as a Bearkat and will get the nod on Saturday, followed by sophomore left-hander Dominic Robinson. Robinson was a key piece out of the Bearkat bullpen as a freshman, making 24 total appearances and one start on the year, while posting a sub-3.00 ERA against SLC competition.
Offensively the Bearkats bring back five of its nine typical starters in addition to reloading with a class that should pick up right where they left off a year ago as an offense that hit .301 as a team for the year. Back are preseason all-SLC choices Clayton Harp, Hunter Hearn and Andrew Fregia, along with the powerful Blake Chisolm and ultra-athletic Riley McKnight.
Fregia's 84 hits, seven home runs and five triples are tops among all Bearkat returners while Hearn is back after a season that saw him hit .326 with 42 RBI on his way to earning all-tournament honors at both the SLC Tournament and the Lubbock Regional. Meanwhile, Harp is back for his junior season after leading the team a year ago with 50 RBI while Chisolm's .997 OPS was among the best in the country.
Newcomers such as infielders Chase Cryer, Trey Ochoa and Ben Haefner, along with outfielder Darien Simms, could all have an immediate impact and bring an experienced pedigree to the roster. Ochoa started 25 games for Texas Tech's 2016 College World Series team before turning in a 2017 season at Howard College that saw him hit .362 with 20 multi-hit performances.
Cryer drove in 80 runs and smacked 26 doubles in two years at Temple College after transferring from Houston, while Simms hit .302 and stole 20 bags a year ago at Northeast Texas CC after spending two years at Arkansas.
Meanwhile, Haefner will get a look at a familiar foe this weekend as he begins his first season as a Bearkat following his transfer from Buffalo. The only non-Texan on the roster, Haefner joins the Kats just a year removed from being a first team all-MAC selection as a shortstop for the Bulls, hitting .326 with a .435 on-base percentage and 37 RBI as a junior.
The series opens up what will be a challenging non-conference season for Sam Houston, one which includes nine straight games at The Don before the team heads to Houston for the Shriners Hospitals For Children College Classic beginning March 2 at Minute Maid Park where they will square off with a trio of SEC teams – Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Mississippi State – all who are consensus top-20 teams in the nation's preseason polls.
The Kats will will kick off Southland Conference play on March 9 at Lamar.
