Sun Belt Conference Weekly News and Notes (Full PDF)
2014 Sun Belt Conference Media Guide
2014 Sun Belt Conference Composite Schedule
2014 Sun Belt Conference Standings
2014 Sun Belt Conference Statistics
Around the Sun Belt Conference
Troy's David Hall and UL Lafayette's Carson Baranik were named this week's Sun Belt Conference Baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week, the league office announced on Monday.
Hall, a junior from Fort Pierce, Fla., led the Trojans to a 3-1 record on the week with a hot bat and amazing on-base percentage. Hall batted .778 (7-for-9) for the Trojans in four games against Northern Kentucky. He reached base 16 times in 18 plate appearances including his first 14; the NCAA record for consecutive PA reached is 18.
Hall slugged a pair of home runs, a solo shot in Game 1 and a 2-run blast in Game 3. He was walked eight times including once intentionally. Hall would finish the weekend with an on-base percentage of .889 and a 1.556 slugging percentage. He also scored six runs.
UL-L's Baranik was just as impressive in his 2014 debut. Baranik was lights out for the Ragin’ Cajuns holding Eastern Illinois scoreless in seven-plus innings while limiting the Panthers to just one hit. Baranik struck out eight hitters in the outing earning his first win in a 1-0 contest.
The Cajuns went 3-1 on the weekend, winning the final three games of the four-game series.
UALR and Arkansas State both earned sweeps to open the season as the Trojans swept Big East opponent Creighton while the Red Wolves routed Miami (Ohio) in their three-game set, outscoring Miami 34-11.
Georgia State, UL Monroe, Texas State and WKU each opened up with 2-1 records to win their series openers. South Alabama went 1-2 on the weekend falling to Tennessee Tech while UT Arlington dropped their first three games of the season in their opening weekend tournament.
Baseball action continues as the first of man midweek contests begins on Tuesday with Georgia State and UALR set to host 3 p.m. games.
Week 1 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week
David Hall (Troy, Junior, Outfield)
David Hall batted .778 (7-for-9) for the Trojans in four games against Northern Kentucky. The junior reached base 16 times in 18 plate appearances including his first 14; the NCAA record for consecutive PA reached is 18.
Hall slugged a pair of home runs, a solo shot in Game 1 and a 2-run blast in Game 3. He was walked eight times including once intentionally.
Hall finished the weekend with an on-base percentage of .889 and a 1.556 slugging percentage. He also scored six runs in leading the Trojans to a 3-1 record on the opening weekend of play.
Week 1 Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week
Carson Baranik (UL Lafayette, Junior, RHP)
UL Lafayette junior Carson Baranik was lights out in his debut for the Ragin’ Cajuns holding Eastern Illinois scoreless in 7.1 innings while limiting the Panthers to just one hit in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 15. Baranik struck out eight hitters in the outing earning his first win in a 1-0 contest.
Player of the Week Archive
2.17 - David Hall, Troy
Pitcher of the Week Archive
2.17 - Carson Baranik, UL Lafayette
Recent Results
Friday, February 14
(1) Stephen F. Austin at UT Arlington L, 9-14
Creighton at UALR W, 5-1
Illinois at Georgia State W, 5-4 (10)
(2) Michigan at Texas State W, 8-7 (10
Northern Kentucky at Troy W, 7-0
Eastern Illinois at UL Lafayette L, 1-5
Grand Canyon at UL Monroe W, 6-3
Tennessee Tech at South Alabama L, 4-5 (11)
Saturday, February 15
Eastern Illinois at UL Lafayette W, 1-0
Northern Kentucky at Troy W, 6-2
Illinois at Georgia State L, 13-19
Southern Illinois at WKU L, 2-3
(2) Washington at Texas State L, 1-6
Tennessee Tech at South Alabama W, 6-3
Grand Canyon at UL Monroe W, 5-4
Miami (OH) at Arkansas State W, 3-0
Miami (OH) at Arkansas State W, 18-8
Eastern Illinois at UL Lafayette W, 13-0
(1) Incarnate Word at UT Arlington L, 1-4
Creighton at UALR W, 7-4
Northern Kentucky at Troy L, 5-6
Sunday, February 16
Illinois at Georgia State W, 10-6
Creighton at UALR W, 7-1
Miami (OH) at Arkansas State W, 13-3
Northern Kentucky at Troy W, 14-4
Eastern Illinois at UL Lafayette W, 9-8
Grand Canyon at UL Monroe L, 1-7
Tennessee Tech at South Alabama L, 4-5
Southern Illinois at WKU W, 6-4
Southern Illinois at WKU W, 6-1
(1) No. 18 Oklahoma State at UT Arlington L, 3-4
(2) Air Force at Texas State W, 6-0
Upcoming Games
Tuesday, February 18
Georgia State at Savannah State 3:00 PM
UALR at Southeast Missouri State 3:00 PM
WKU at Belmont 4:00 PM
Arkansas-Monticello at Arkansas State 4:00 PM
Texas State at Rice 4:30 PM
Southern Miss at UL Monroe 6:00 PM
Alabama State at South Alabama 6:30 PM
UT Arlington at Baylor 6:35 PM
Wednesday, February 19
UL Lafayette at Northwestern State 6:00 PM
Thursday, February 20
(3) UL Monroe vs. Western Illinois 3:00 PM
Friday, February 21
UNC Asheville at WKU 3:00 PM
Bradley at UALR 3:00 PM
Georgia State at Mississippi 4:00 PM
UT Arlington at McNeese State 6:00 PM
UL Lafayette at Southern Miss 6:00 PM
Central Michigan at Troy 6:00 PM
Illinois State at Arkansas State 6:00 PM
(3) UL Monroe at Nicholls State 6:30 PM
South Alabama at New Orleans 6:30 PM
UC Riverside at Texas State 6:30 PM
Saturday, February 22
Illinois State at Arkansas State 1:00 PM
Central Michigan at Troy 1:00 PM
(3) UL Monroe vs. Western Illinois 1:00 PM
Georgia State at Mississippi 1:30 PM
UL Lafayette at Southern Miss 2:00 PM
UNC Asheville at WKU 2:00 PM
South Alabama at New Orleans 2:00 PM
Bradley at UALR 3:00 PM
UC Riverside at Texas State 3:00 PM
UT Arlington at McNeese State 3:00 PM
Illinois State at Arkansas State 4:00 PM
Central Michigan at Troy 4:00 PM
Sunday, February 23
(3) UL Monroe vs. Southern Illinois 12:00 PM
South Alabama at New Orleans 1:00 PM
UT Arlington at McNeese State 1:00 PM
UC Riverside at Texas State 1:00 PM
UNC Asheville at WKU 1:00 PM
UL Lafayette at Southern Miss 1:00 PM
Central Michigan at Troy 1:00 PM
Bradley at UALR 1:00 PM
Illinois State at Arkansas State 1:00 PM
Georgia State at Mississippi 1:30 PM
NOTE: All Game times are Central and Subject to Change
* - denotes SBC game
Team News and Notes
UALR Trojans
UALR moved to 14-3 in its six season-opening series under head coach Scott Norwood… The team opened 3-0 for the second time in three seasons… The Trojans never trailed in their three-game sweep of Creighton and outscored the Bluejays 19-6… All three UALR starting pitchers earned the wins in their starts… The eight pitchers used out of the bullpen combined to work 10 shutout innings while racking up 12 strikeouts… Junior Justin Steelmon hit .375 and had a .583 on-base percentage while junior Mitchell Scheuler hit .333 with a home run and six RBIs.
Arkansas State Red Wolves
For the second straight season the Arkansas State baseball team opened year with a series sweep, taking three games from Miami (Ohio) over the weekend to start the year 3-0. After Friday night’s game was postponed due to rain, A-State opened the 2014 season with a twinbill against the RedHawks and did not disappoint its home fans. Senior right-hander Bradley Wallace picked up where he left off in 2013 by tossing six innings of shutout baseball in game-1 as Arkansas State won its 24th straight season opener dating back to 1991 and moved to 4-2 in season openers under head coach Tommy Raffo. The series concluded a big weekend at the plate offensively for the Red Wolves who scored 34 runs across two games and had 36 hits. Dustin Jones and Zach George each had five hits on the weekend and as team Arkansas State had 13 doubles and 28 RBIs with a .336 batting average. Arkansas State newcomer Matt Burgess introduced himself to Red Wolves fans in a big way this past week by collecting six hits and driving in six runs to help A-State to a pair of 10-run victories over Miami (Ohio). Burgess did not play in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader, but took advantage of a start in game two by going 3-for-5 from the play with three runs scored, three RBIs and one walk as the Red Wolves defeated the RedHawks 18-8. Burgess got the start again on Sunday and continued to produce, going 3-for-4, including two doubles, with three RBIs and two runs scored. He also added another walk. For the weekend he went 6-for-9 with six RBIs, two doubles and two walks. The Red Wolves sweep of the RedHawks was just third time in school history that A-State had opened the year with a season sweep but the second time in as many years. A-State is playing its first nine games of the year at home, including a matchup this Tuesday with in-state opponent Arkansas-Monticello.
Georgia State Panthers
Georgia State opened the season by taking two out of three from Illinois, an NCAA Tournament team in 2013. The Panthers came from behind in their two victories. On Friday, GSU tied the game in the bottom of the ninth on Chad Prain’s RBI double and then won in in the 10th on a walk-off single by Greg Bowder. On Sunday the Panthers trailed 6-4 after six innings. Junior right-hander Jerry Stuckey finished both games and earned a pair of victories. In four innings of work out of the bullpen, he allowed no hits or runs and struck out six. Sophomore Matt Rose belted two homers in the series with a solo shot Saturday and a three-run blast on Sunday, when he also started on the mound and pitched into the sixth inning, allowing two runs on five hits with six strikeouts. At the plate, Rose went 5-for-15 with seven RBI in the series. Senior outfielder Chris Triplett hit .538 (7-for-13) and slugged .846 for series with a homer, a double and seven RBI. One of the nation’s top offensive teams a year ago, Georgia State continued that trend on the opening weekend, pounding out 45 hits (.388 average) and scoring 28 runs in the three games. GSU hit five homers. The Panthers are opening with seven straight games against teams that played in the 2013 NCAA Regionals. GSU travels to MEAC champion Savannah State Tuesday and then to Ole Miss for a three-game weekend series.
UL Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns
The 14th ranked Ragin’ Cajuns baseball team opened the 2014 season going 3-1 on the weekend against Eastern Illinois at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field. The Panthers surprised Louisiana in the series opener winning 5-1, but the Cajuns would go on to win the series taking the final three games. Newcomers Carson Baranik and Greg Milhorn were stellar in their outings contributing to back-to-back shutouts before the Cajuns came from behind to win the finale 9-8. Senior’s Ryan Wilson and Seth Harrison led the way at the plate with Wilson going 3-for-8 with a double, home run and six RBI, while Harrison was 6-for-17 with a double, triple, home run and drove in two. The Cajuns are back in action this week starting a five-game road swing with a mid-week contest at Northwestern State on Wednesday at 6 p.m. After facing the Demons, Louisiana heads to Hattiesburg, Miss. for a three-game series against Southern Miss starting on Friday at 6 p.m.
UL Monroe Warhawks
ULM will close out its season-opening four-game home stand on Tuesday night as it faces Southern Miss with first pitch slated for 6 p.m... The Warhawks will make the return trip to Hattiesburg, Miss., on Mar. 18… ULM and Southern Miss met just once on the diamond last year and the Warhawks came away with a 6-5 win over the then-No. 24 Golden Eagles (Feb. 26, 2013; Warhawk Field)... The Apr. 30, 2013 meeting that was scheduled in Hattiesburg, Miss., was canceled due to rain… The Warhawks earned a series win over Grand Canyon by claiming the first two games of the weekend (W, 6-3, Feb. 14; W, 5-4, Feb. 15)... ULM fell in the finale, 7-1 (Feb. 16)… With the 2-1 start to open the season, the Warhawks have now started 2-1 for four consecutive seasons (2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014)… Alex Hermeling shined in his return to the hill as the redshirt-sophomore recorded a quality start with one unearned run and four hits in six innings of work... Hermeling walked three and struck out three in his 91-pitch outing... Taka High, Cody Connally, Justin Manton and Anthony Herrera saw their first collegiate action out of the bullpen... Senior Jared Dye also saw action out of the bullpen for his first appearance of 2014… Jacob Stockton and Kodie Tidwell each tallied two hits and scored one run as ULM claimed the series with a 5-4 win in game two of the weekend series... Starter Alex Dumaine earned a quality start by allowing just on earned run on six hits... The southpaw allowed one walk and struck out a career-high seven batters... Carey Taylor tossed two scoreless frames and Tyler Bray closed out the game… In the opener against GCU, Dalton Herrington and Josh Faciane tallied five RBI as the Warhawks claimed a 6-3 win... Lefty Chad Miller (1-0) earned the win after allowing one earned run (two total) on three hits with three walks and one strikeout... Josh Leone allowed one run in four innings of relief and Tyler Bray earned his first save of the season with a scoreless ninth… Friday night’s season-opener against Grand Canyon was head coach Jeff Schexnaider’s 400th career game as the Warhawks’ skipper.
South Alabama Jaguars
South Alabama (1-2) dropped two of three games to Tennessee Tech last weekend at Stanky Field. The Jaguars fell to TTU 5-4 in 11 innings in Friday’s season opener, but rebounded for a 6-3 win on Saturday thanks to a five-run eighth inning rally. The Golden Eagles clinched the series with a 5-4 win on Sunday. Jaguar second baseman Logan Kirkland, a Freshman All-American and all-SBC selection in 2011 who has been hampered by injuries the past two seasons, batted .500 (6-for-12) with three runs scored and one RBI and recorded multiple hits in two of three games. The USA bullpen posted a 1.17 ERA in 15 1/3 innings and struck out 14 batters, but issued 12 walks and one hit by pitch. Left-hander James Traylor struck out a career-high eight batters in 5 1/3 relief innings Friday, and allowed just one run on four hits but suffered the loss. Freshman southpaw Tripp Hobbs earned his first career win Saturday with three relief innings, allowing one run on two hits with a strikeout and four walks. Senior right-hander Brandon Hallford tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings in relief Sunday, allowing just one hit while striking out four and issuing three walks. In three games, South Alabama batted .339 with three doubles and 13 RBI while Jaguar pitchers have posted a 3.41 ERA in 29 innings with 23 strikeouts against 20 walks. South Alabama will host Alabama State Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Stanky Field before a three-game weekend set at New Orleans.
UT Arlington Mavericks
UT Arlington baseball opened the 2014 season 0-3 at the UTA Invitational over the weekend. In the 14-9 loss to Stephen F. Austin, UTA starter senior Brad Vachon allowed 7 earned runs on 8 hits in 2.0 innings pitched. Vachon did not allow a run in 18.1 innings pitched to start the 2013 season. Senior Peter Cuomo batted .500 in all three games and now leads the Mavericks in batting average (.500), slugging percentage (.500) and hits (5). Junior transfer Javier Pontifis, in the 4-3 loss to Oklahoma State, picked off runners in back-to-back innings to open the game. Sophomore Darien McLemore and junior Derek Miller have the only extra base hits for the Mavs, each have 1 double. Peter Cuomo, Greg McCall, Darien McLemore and Matt Shortall currently own three-game hitting streaks while Derek Miller is on a two-game hitting streak.
Texas State Bobcats
Texas State started the season 2-1 with victories over Michigan and Air Force. The Bobcats came back from a 5-0 deficit in extra innings to outlast the Wolverines while dominating Air Force in a two-hit shutout, 6-0. Juniors Taylor Black and Austen Williams put up career highs in innings pitched and strikeouts, both finishing with eight. Junior third baseman David Paiz paced the Bobcats with a .545 batting average and a .643 on-base percentage for the weekend while senior catcher Tyler Pearson and sophomore first baseman Tanner Hill both knocked home runs. This week Texas State heads to Houston for a 4:30 p.m. Tuesday game against Rice and will return home to host UC Riverside this weekend with games at 6:30 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at Bobcat Ballpark.
Troy Trojans
The Troy Trojans took three of four games from Northern Kentucky over the weekend … Outfielder David Hall batted .778 (7-for-9) with a pair of home runs and four RBIs … Hall reached base 16 times in 18 plate appearances, walking eight times … Junior outfielder Jo-El Bennett was 3-for-5 with three home runs in Sunday’s series; he finished six RBIs … Senior Tanner Hicks pitched seven shutout innings in Troy’s 7-0 win on Friday, tying a career high with nine strikeouts while walking just one … Junior Trevin Hall finished the series 8-for-16 (.500) with a pair of home runs; he led the team in hits over the weekend with eight … The Trojans have now won 10-of-12 opening series un der head coach Bobby Pierce … 2013 Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year Shane McCain tossed six quality innings on Saturday in Troy’s 6-2 win … McCain finished with nine strikeouts while allowing just one run on five hits
WKU Hilltoppers
WKU has now won its season-opening series in six of the past eight seasons. Junior shortstop Cody Wofford became the first Hilltopper to homer twice in one game since Ryan Huck did so on March 16, 2013 against MTSU. WKU swept both games of a double header for the first time since March 16, 2013 against MTSU. The Hilltoppers held Southern Illinois to a .204 clip at the plate, the lowest batting average by any SBC pitching staff on opening weekend. WKU struck out 19 batters and held SIU to nine hits in the final 17 innings of the opening series. In 11 of Justin Hageman’s 34 career starts he has worked more than five innings and surrendered one run or less. Junior LHP Ian Tompkins, a NCBWA Stopper of the Year watch list member, struck out four of the seven batters he faced in 2.0 innings to earn his first save of the year. WKU newcomers Ryan Church and Cody Wofford combined to go 8-of-24 at the plate with four RBI, three home runs and five runs scored. Freshman RHP Sam Higgs tossed 3.0 innings of near perfect relief to earn his first career save Sunday, retiring the first eight batters he faced while surrendering just one hit and no walks. He finished with a pair of strikeouts.