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Baseball Hosts Lamar Over the Weekend
April 24, 2008
SAN MARCOS - The Texas State Bobcats are midway through Southland Conference play and currently stand in second place. The `Cats look to keep the edge as they enter a three-day tilt over the weekend with the Lamar Cardinals. First pitch at Bobcat Field is slated for 6 p.m. Friday night. After taking a three-game sweep over Central Arkansas, the Bobcats shifted into a solo second place standing with a 13-5 record. The `Cats swept Texas A&M-Corpus Christ recently, but have dropped at least one game to other league opponents faced. Texas State will use its strong bats to maneuver through the weekend. The `Cats lead the conference with a collective .365 batting average, setting nearly a 40-point margin between second-best Sam Houston State. Texas State has scored 166 runs off 233 hits, while batting in a league best 162 RBI. The Bobcats top nine bats Thomas Field grabbed SLC Hitter of the Week honors after his 15-for-22 performance last week. Field has not slowed since the showing, now batting .407 in league play. The average however, is the fourth-best for Texas State. Paul Goldschmidt leads the team with a .507 showing while Spenser Dennis falls in at ninth batting an even .300. Lamar will attempt to halt the booming bats with the seventh-best league pitching squad. The Cardinals have an overall 4.76 ERA with Tim Erikson and Brian Sisk heading the team with a 2.36 and 3.82 respective earned run average. Sisk (7-2) is slated to start Friday night's contest, entering with 38.1 innings pitched. The No. 9 SLC southpaw drops to a 5.87 earned run average against league opponents, allowing 44 hits and 15 earned runs. Erikson leads the league with his numbers, limiting opponents to a .254 batting average. The left-hander became LU's career saves leader in the team's 3-0 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette Tuesday night, totaling eight for the season and 16 combined.
Aside from a strong mound, Lamar posts a .281 team batting average. Travis Dunson leads the team with a .343 average and Steven Tucker provides a .340 stroke at the plate. Not one member of the team has hit more than three home runs and with a slugging percentage of just .400, the Cardinals post 95 extra-base hits on the season. Despite the low numbers, Lamar holds the edge in the all-time series 32-17. The Bobcats were at Vincent-Beck Stadium last year and managed just one win over the Cardinals, a Saturday 8-1 victory. Broacasts and live stats for the series with Lamar will be available on www.TxStateBobcats.com. |
