Baseball adds Arizona to 2019 slate
3/28/2019 2:43:00 PM | Baseball
HUNTSVILLE – After early spring weather hindered one of the nation's most challenging slates, the Sam Houston State Bearkats have re-bolstered its schedule with a non-conference road game at Arizona.
The Bearkats enter this weekend's series vs McNeese at 15-7 overall and 7-2 in the Southland Conference, while owning a ranking of No. 37 in the most recent RPI report from the NCAA; however, SHSU has already lost four games due to weather this season, including three games which were scheduled against teams currently ranked in the RPI top 100.
“You've always got to be cognizant of the RPI and we've lost several games to the weather, which is really unusual in my five years here,” Bearkat head coach Matt Deggs said. “We also lost high-quality opponents in TCU, Texas Tech and Louisiana Tech so we have to be have to be very wise and pragmatic in what we look to schedule moving forward.”
The Kats will head to Tucson for a game on May 13 at Hi Corbett Field with first pitch set for 8 p.m. CT.
Sam Houston is 2-2 all-time vs Arizona, having met in both the 2016 Lafayette Regional and the 2017 Lubbock Regional.
“Arizona is obviously a team that we have a lot of respect for, we have a history with them and they have a history with us,” Deggs said. “Both coaching staffs are pretty similar and there is a mutual respect there, which is important. It should be a good trip for our guys.”
The Bearkats will be back at Don Sanders Stadium this weekend to host McNeese in a three-game series beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m. Friday's game vs the Cowboys will be aired on ESPN+ and the ESPN app, while Saturday's game will be aired on the Bearkat Sports Network's YouTube channel.
