April 20, 2011
Game Notes
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Louisiana Tech baseball team concludes their eight-game road swing with a four-game set at San Jose State beginning Thursday evening at 8 p.m. CT at Municipal Stadium. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Good Friday beginning at 5 p.m. and will conclude the road trip with the series finale against the Spartans Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.
The Bulldogs have not had much success on the road at San Jose as Tech has posted a 4-18 record against the Spartans outside of Louisiana during the Simoneaux era. Thursday will mark the 48th meeting between the two schools and Tech will be seeking their first win in the series at San Jose State since Tech knocked off the Spartans on March 25, 2006.
The Bulldogs are hitting .272 as a team with junior Mark Threlkeld leading the way with a .323 average. Senior Will Alvis leads the team with seven home runs and 28 RBI. Threlkeld ranks second on the club with five home runs. Tech pitchers have improved immensely from last season as the staff has lowered their ERA to 4.63 with Mike Jefferson leading the charge with a 3.05 mark. In fact, Tech has recorded a shutout in each of Jefferson's last three starts to bring the season total to five shutouts - the most since the Bulldogs had six shutouts during the 1990 season.
Dave Nitz will provide play-by-play commentary for all four games this weekend. Fans can listen within the greater Ruston area on ESPN 97.7 or log on and listen via LA Tech All-Access.
ON DECK
After wrapping up their eight-game roadtrip, the Bulldogs return home to J.C. Love Field for 12 of their next 13 games. Tech will play a pair of midweek games next week beginning Tuesday at home against Grambling State before traveling to Northwestern State on Wednesday.
QUICK HITS
• Thursday will mark the 48th meeting between the two schools.
• Tech is 4-16 in games played in San Jose during the Simoneaux era.
• Tech has dropped eight-straight games at San Jose State.
• Tech has not won in San Jose since an 8-2 decision on March 25, 2006.
• The five shutouts from Tech this season are the most since Tech had six in 1990.
• Tech's 3-0 win over Hawai'i on Sunday (4/17) marked the first time that Tech had won a game with four hits or less since Feb. 23, 2007 vs. ULM
• The shutout against Hawai'i was also the first time Tech had shutout an opponent on the road since March 11, 2005 when Tech knocked off Nicholls State, 1-0.
• Tech is 13-0 this season when leading after eight innings.
• Tech is 158-6 since the 2004 season when leading after eight innings.
• Tech is 2-18 this season when trailing after eight innings.
• Tech has featured 29 different starting lineups in 36 games this season.
• Tech is 2-0 this season in extra innings games.
• Tech has picked off 10 runners to lead the WAC.
• Tech is hitting .307 at home while hitting .235 on the road.
• Ryan Gebhardt has hit safely in his last nine games.
• Joey Ford has tallied 14 multi-hit games this season.
• Will Alvis ranks second in the WAC with seven home runs.
• The four home runs allowed by the Bulldogs' pitching staff are the fewest in the WAC.
• Mark Threlkeld ranks third in the WAC with 12 doubles.
• Threlkeld ranks amongst the WAC leaders in 12 offensive categories.
• Clint Ewing has been hit by eight pitches this year, ranking second in the WAC.
• Ryan Gebhardt ranks second the WAC with six sacrifice bunts.
• Caleb Dudley leads the WAC with 18 appearances on the mound.
• Mike Jefferson leads the WAC with seven pickoffs on the season.
• Jefferson is the only pitcher in the WAC (1.0 IP/ per game) that hasn't allowed a home run.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
San Jose State enters the weekend with a 23-14 overall record and a 3-5 mark through the first two weekends of conference play. The Spartans dropped three of their four games last weekend at New Mexico State and were outscored 48-28 during those games. Despite last weekend's results, SJSU boasts an impressive resume that includes wins over perennial powers UCLA and Fresno State.
The Spartans are hitting .272 as a club and have belted 56 doubles, 10 triples and 12 home runs this season. Danny Stienstra leads the team13 doubles and 33 RBI to go along with a .383 batting average. Jacob Valdez and Zach Jones rank second and third on the team with averages of .324 and .318, respectively.
Roberto Padilla anchors the San Jose pitching staff with six wins on the season and a 3.08 era. Padilla out-dueled UCLA standout and top-ranked draft prospect, Trevor Bauer, in San Jose's 5-3 win over the Bruins earlier this year. The southpaw has tallied 46 strikeouts on the season to just 30 walks in 64.1 innings of work. Overall, the Spartans own a 4.87 staff ERA and have held opposing teams to a .281 batting average. Defensively, SJSU leads the WAC with a .978 fielding percentage.
