Kats to kick off 2019 this weekend
2/14/2019 9:56:00 AM | Baseball
Games 1-3
February 15 • 12:00 pm CT • DeLand, Fla. • Melching Field at Conrad Park
Sam Houston State (0-0, 0-0 Southland) vs Manhattan (0-0, 0-0 MAAC)
Live Stats • @BearkatsBSB on Twitter
February 16 • 6:00 pm CT • DeLand, Fla. • Melching Field at Conrad Park
Sam Houston State (0-0, 0-0 Southland) at Stetson (0-0, 0-0 A-Sun)
Live Stats • Watch Live • @BearkatsBSB on Twitter
February 17 • 10:00 am CT • DeLand, Fla. • Melching Field at Conrad Park
Sam Houston State (0-0, 0-0 Southland) vs Virginia Tech (0-0, 0-0 ACC)
Live Stats • @BearkatsBSB on Twitter
HUNTSVILLE – Armed with 23 returners and a roster full of proven experience, Sam Houston State head coach Matt Deggs and his Bearkats will kick off the 2019 season on the road for the first time since 2015 when it battles three teams from the east coast at the Rycass Classic in DeLand, Fla.
The tournament, hosted by Stetson, will also feature games with Manhattan and Virginia Tech, with the Kats' Friday game vs the Jaspers serving as the season opener. The games are the first of a challenging 2019 schedule for SHSU that features 13 teams ranked in the RPI top 100 in 2018, including eight in the top 50 and three teams who advanced to the College World Series in Omaha.
This weekend's host team, Stetson, is the RPI prize of the weekend after finishing No. 7 in the 2018 RPI. The Hatters won both the Atlantic Sun regular season and tournament title before advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals before bowing out to North Carolina.
This season's Bearkat team looks primed for the challenge, however, with this year's group of 11 seniors having won 125 games over the course of their careers.
The Kats were the near unanimous pick to defend its league title in the preseason poll after going 39-20 and dominating the SLC to the tune of a 24-6; however, this team enters with lofty expectations after missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015.
SCOUTING MANHATTAN
The Jaspers are coming off a 25-28 season in 2018 and will be opening their season in DeLand for the second consecutive year, having been swept by Stetson in a three-game series last year to kick off the season. This season they were picked fifth in the MAAC preseason poll and are led by preseason all-MAAC selection Richie Barrella who hit .309 with a team-high 59 hits while being named to the all-conference second team.
SCOUTING STETSON
The Hatters are coming off a historic 2018 campaign that saw them go 48-13, win both the Atlantic Sun regular season and tournament titles and advance to the NCAA Super Regionals after winning its own hosted regional. They lost six players to the MLB Draft and among everyday players will only return two from a year ago. As a staff Stetson led the nation in ERA and strikeouts and featured the NCAA leaders in both strikeouts and saves; however, despite five of their six MLB draft picks a year ago being pitchers, Stetson is still the preseason favorite to defend its league title in 2019.
SCOUTING VIRGINIA TECH
The Hokies went 21-33 a year ago, including 8-22 in the ACC, and are picked to finish seventh in the ACC's Coastal Division in the league's preseason poll. It is VT's second season under head coach John Szefc and will be facing the Bearkats for the first time in school history. The Hokies are 0-3 vs teams in the Southland Conference all-time, losing once to Southeastern Louisiana and twice to New Orleans.
