Sam Houston State baseball hosts Baylor at Don Sanders Stadium in game one of the home-and-home series tonight before heading to Waco to conclude the series Wednesday.
Wednesday’s game is a result from the postponed game from March 4, which was due to inclement weather.
The Bearkats head into the two-game series with a 9-11 record, including 4-2 in the Southland Conference. The Bears visit Huntsville with a 6-12 record on a 10-game losing streak, still winless in the Big XII.
While the teams play different opponents, SHSU’s offense and defense looks better than Baylor’s on paper. The Kats bat .295 at the plate while the Bears bat .244 as a team. The Kats have scored 117 runs this season while the Bears have only recorded 72 runs. The Bears’ pitching has had some hardships this season as the team ERA is 5.55 while the Kats’ ERA is 3.75.
The Kats are 5-9 in non-conference games and look to continue their hot offense from Sunday’s performance against Northwestern State.
First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
What happened over the weekend
Sam Houston State baseball lost two games in their three-game series against Northwestern State last weekend to fall to 6-6 in their weekend series play this season.
The Demons swept the Beatkats in the doubleheader Saturday. The Kats were able to recover on Sunday and avoid being swept in the weekend by pulling out a 9-3 win.
In game one of the doubleheader, SHSU pitcher Andrew Godail tossed six and two-thirds innings in the Kats’ 1-0 loss. Although Godail allowed only four hits, he took the loss as NSU pitcher Adam Oller shut out SHSU with only six hits and no runs allowed. SHSU senior right fielder Travis Lee went three-for-four at the plate as the only Kat to record only more than one hit at the plate. In the second game Saturday, the Demons jacked four home runs in the third inning and won the game 10-8. Despite the Kats’ multiple efforts, NSU never looked back and swept the doubleheader.
In Sunday’s series finale, the Kats exploded at the plate to record nine runs on 17 hits. Lee, Bryce Johnson, Dylan Ebbs, Trevor Winne and Jake MacWilliam all recorded two hits in the game, while Miles Manning and Spence Rahm each knocked three hits. SHSU pitcher Ryan Brinley threw five scoreless innings and allowed only two hits.
The Kats will face NSU again on April 7 in Huntsville for a non-conference game.
