Kats to open series vs ACU on Thursday
3/28/2018 7:43:00 PM | Baseball
Games 25-27
March 29-31 • Huntsville • Don Sanders Stadium (1,164)
Sam Houston State (17-7, 6-0 Southland) vs Abilene Christian (13-9, 2-7 Southland)
Thursday • 6:30 pm • ESPN3 • Live Stats • @BearkatsBSB on Twitter
Friday • 6:30 pm • ESPN3 • Live Stats • @BearkatsBSB on Twitter
Saturday • 1:00 pm • Live Stats • @BearkatsBSB on Twitter
HUNTSVILLE – The Sam Houston State Bearkats will jump back into Southland Conference play this weekend when they host Abilene Christian for a three-game series beginning Thursday night at Don Sanders Stadium.
This weekend's series will take place Thursday through Saturday, rather than Friday through Sunday, due to the Easter holiday. Each of the first two games of the series are set to be aired on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. Fans can also follow along on Statbroadcast or with updates by following @BearkatsBSB on Twitter.
After breaking into each of the nation's top-25 polls during the regular season for the first time since 2014 last week, the Kats dropped three of four games against top-end competition, including falling in two of three at home over the weekend to Dallas Baptist. They were scheduled to return to action on Tuesday at UT Arlington but that game was rescheduled to April 11 due to inclement weather.
That puts the Kats back on the Don Sanders Stadium turf this weekend against the Wildcats, a team they have dominated since ACU joined the Southland Conference in 2014. Sam Houston is 11-1 against the Wildcats as SLC foes after a sweep in Abilene last season, a series which saw the Kats score 46 runs in just three games.
ACU started off the year with wins in 10 of its first 11 games, but has struggled since, winning just three of their last 11. That includes just a 2-7 start in SLC play with a series win over New Orleans being sandwiched around sweeps at the hands of UIW and most recently Stephen F. Austin.
This will be ACU's third trip to The Don, a place they are 0-6 at. The Kats are 18-1 all-time against ACU in games played in Huntsville with the lone win coming in 2002. ACU sports just a 5.20 team ERA, but boasts an offense that is hitting a league-best .319 as a team. Colton Eager's .373 average is the team best and makes him one of eight Wildcats with better than a .300 average. Dalon Fargas leads the SLC with 11 doubles three homers, while Derek Scott leads the team with 23 RBI.
But the Bearkat offense has been good in its own right, ranking second in the SLC with a .288 average with seven players with a .300 average or better. Blake Chisolm has been red hot of late, hitting safely seven times in 13 at-bats in three games vs DBU, including homers in three consecutive at-bats. Trey Ochoa is also hitting .345 and has reached base safely in 21 straight games while Andrew Fregia has reached in 20 straight contests.
