Top-seeded Kats to open SLC Tournament
5/22/2018 5:23:00 PM | Baseball
Southland Conference Tournament
May 23-26 • Sguar Land • Constellation Field
Tournament Central
Round One
Wednesday• 4 pm
No. 1 Sam Houston State (38-18, 24-6 Southland) vs No. 8 New Orleans (26-30, 14-16 Southland)
Wednesday • 7 pm
No. 4 Houston Baptist (26-28, 18-12 Southland) vs No. 5 Central Arkansas (32-23, 17-13 Southland)
ESPN+ • Live Stats • @BearkatsBSB on Twitter
SUGAR LAND – The Sam Houston State Bearkats will kick off their run at defense of their Southland Conference Tournament title on Wednesday in the opening round against New Orleans at Constellation Field.
The Kats have claimed the last two titles in Sugar Land and are looking to win the event for the third straight year and become just the third team in league history to do so. They will enter the tournament as the No. 1 overall seed and take on No. 8 New Orleans who qualified for the tournament on the final day of the regular season.
Sam's tournament opener is set for 4:00 p.m. and all games of the tournament will be aired on ESPN+ and can be followed via live stats and by following @BearkatsBSB on Twitter.
No. 4 Houston Baptist and No. 5 Central Arkansas make up the other half of the Bearkats' side of the bracket.
Sam Houston and New Orleans did not face off during the regular season, but did meet in last year's tournament with the Kats picking up a 7-1 win to move into the title game. The Kats will turn to left-hander Seth Ballew in Game 1 while the Privateers will go with a lefty of their own, John Michael Stevens.
The Bearkats secured their fifth regular season title in seven years and are seeking a third consecutive Southland tournament title this week. In 2017, Sam Houston became the only conference program in history to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals. The team earned four all-conference picks this year, led by first-team short stop Andrew Fregia. Sam Houston has won nine of 10 conference series in 2018, including five three-game sweeps.
The Privateers head to the postseason wielding two of the strongest individual weapons in the league in senior third baseman Owen Magee and junior pitcher Bryan Warzek. Both were first team all-conference picks this season.
Magee comfortably paces the team with a .335 batting average, tallying 80 hits, 14 doubles, 39 RBIs and 123 total bases. Warzek, a left-hander from Clifton Park, N.Y., was the most prominent presence on the mound for UNO, pitching 88.0 innings for the team this year. He notched a 4-2 record and 2.56 ERA, including 117 strikeouts.
