March 28, 2011
Game Notes
RUSTON, La. - Coming off of a thrilling sweep of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon against the Broncs of UTPA, Louisiana Tech (12-12) welcomes Southern Arkansas to J.C. Field Wednesday night at 6 p.m. CT for a midweek showdown. The Bulldogs currently own a 40-13 all-time record against the Muleriders. However, the two clubs have not met since April 6, 1999.
In Tech's eight game roadtrip through the state of Texas, the Bulldog offense struggled to the tune of a .186 batting average but managed to rebound this past week by hitting at a blistering .339 clip. Kyle Roliard posted a team-high 10 hits this past week while Alex Williams led the Bulldogs with eight RBI. Of the 14 pitchers that saw action last week, only three allowed more than one earned run.
Limited to just 2.0 innings of work last Friday, sophomore Trevor Petersen will get the nod on the mound for the Bulldogs. The right-handed pitcher owns a 2-1 record on the season and has allowed 42 hits, 24 runs in 35.0 innings of work. The Hallsville, Texas, native has tallied 21 strikeouts while issuing 20 walks on the season to post a 5.66 ERA.
Southern Arkansas (18-9) enters the week after dropping two of three games to Delta State this past weekend. The Muleriders are hitting .286 as a team and rank amongst the NCAA Division II leaders with 32 home runs.
All home games this season will be streamed live courtesy of LA Tech All-Access while live stats will be provided via Game Tracker on www.LATechSports.com, the official home page for Louisiana Tech Athletics.
ON DECK
Following a midweek contest against Southern Arkansas, the Bulldogs will close out the non-conference weekend slate with two games against LSU-Shreveport. The Diamond Dogs will then open up conference play the following weekend with a four-game set against the Aggies of New Mexico State.
QUICK HITS
• Tuesday will mark the 54th meeting between the two schools.
• Southern Arkansas will mark Tech's first Division II opponent under Simoneaux.
• The Bulldogs own a 5-1 record during the Simoneaux era against non-Division I foes.
• Tech has won 15 of their last 17 games at J.C. Love Field.
• Tech has featured 21 different starting lineups in 24 games this season.
• Tech is 2-0 this season in extra innings games.
• Tech is 9-0 when leading after eight innings but 2-12 when trailing after eight.
• Tech has picked off eight runners to lead the WAC.
• Tech is hitting .311 at home while hitting .246 on the road.
• Eight Bulldogs own hitting streaks of two-plus games.
• Joey Ford, Kyle Roliard and Mark Threlkeld all own five-plus game hitting streaks.
• Ford has tallied 12 multi-hit games and four in his last five outings.
• Will Alvis ranks second in the WAC with five home runs.
• The four home runs allowed by the Bulldogs' pitching staff is the fewest in the WAC.
• Mark Threlkeld ranks third in the WAC with nine doubles.
• Threlkeld ranks amongst the WAC leaders in 12 offensive categories.
• Threlkeld leads the WAC after being hit by six pitches.
• Threlkeld leads the WAC with four sacrifice flies.
• Ryan Gebhardt ranks second in the WAC with four sacrifice bunts.
• Caleb Dudley leads the WAC with 11 appearances on the mound.
• Mike Jefferson leads the WAC with six pickoffs on the season.
• Jefferson is one of four starting pitchers in the WAC who hasn't allowed a triple or homer.
SCOUTING THE MULERIDERS
Perhaps one of the more consistent programs at the NCAA Division II level, Southern Arkansas returns five position players and just one starting pitcher from a 2010 squad that finished 47-10 and wound up as the sixth-ranked team in the country. Last season, the Muleriders picked up a Gulf South Conference West Division Championship and ended their season as an NCAA Division II South Region Finalist.
Under the direction of first-year head coach Steve Browning, the Muleriders currently boast an 18-9 record and are the 28th-ranked team at the Division II level in the latest Collegiate Baseball Newspaper rankings.
Offensively, senior backstop Brandon Choate leads the team with a .379 batting average as he has collected 25 hits and 26 RBI while scoring 22 runs. Fellow senior Logan Williams has a team-high nine home runs and 30 RBI to go along with his .320 average. In total, the Muleriders are hitting .286 as a club with 42 doubles, seven triples and 32 home runs on the season. On the base paths, Southern Arkansas has stolen 42 bases on 55 attempts.
Senior Dan Bream leads the SAU pitching staff with a 7-1 record and a microscopic 1.69 ERA. The right-handed standout has fanned 48 batters while only walking 13 in 53.1 innings of work this season. Junior Doug Shields has a team-leading three saves and a 1-0 record in addition to his 1.99 ERA. Shields has struck out 15 batters this season while issuing a total of seven walks. As a staff, SAU owns a 4.85 ERA and has fanned 190 batters while walking just 73.
