Thursday, March 8, 2012

On Deck - Lions vs Nicholls State

SLU Lions (10-3, 0-0 SLC) vs Nicholls State Colonels (7-6, 0-0 SLC)
6:30pm Friday March 9 - Ray E. Didier Field - Thibodaux, LA
2pm Saturday March 10 - The Pat - Hammond, LA
1pm Sunday March 11 - Ray E. Didier Field - Thibodaux, LA


The Line on the Lions
Offense:  .267/.398 OB%
Pitching:  2.37/.196 OBA
Defense:  .972
Ranking:  Receiving Votes (NCBWA & USA Today/ESPN Coaches)
Boyd's World RPI:  31
Last 10 Games:  7-3
Last 5 Games:  3-2
Streak:  W1

The Line on the Colonels
Offense:  .259/.338 OB%
Pitching:  3.70/.266 OBA
Defense:  .940
Ranking:  N/R
Boyd's World RPI:  115
Last 10 Games:  6-4
Last 5 Games:  4-1
Streak:  W3

What to Watch For
Top hitters for the Lions are Brock Hebert (.432/0/4), Jonathan Pace (.395/1/11), and Ladd Rhodes (.321/0/2). Hebert (.544) and Pace (.509) lead SLU in OB%.  The Colonels top hitters are Jeremy Hill (.383/1/12), Philip Lyons (.354/0/9), and Michael LeGrange (.346/1/13).

Probable pitchers for SLU are RHP Joseph Koon (2-0, 2.50), LHP Jordan Hymel (2-0, 1.62), and RHP Josh Janway (2-0, 1.17).  Top arms out of the bullpen are Jason Greenleaf (0.00), Stefan Lopez (0.00, 4 Saves), and Dylan Hills (1.86/14Ks in 9.2IP).  Nicholls State's probable pitchers are RHP Seth Webster (1-2, 5.12), LHP Patrick Shreve (1-2, 4.08), and LHP Mike Wiscarver (0-1, 3.12).  Shreve has recorded 22Ks in 17IP.  Jordan McCoy (5.14, 3 Saves) is the top guy out of the pen for the Colonels.

Last Time They Played - Nicholls State won the series last season, as they won Friday in Hammond 7-3 and Saturday in Thibodaux 11-1.  The Lions came back and won the Sunday game in Hammond 15-4.  During the 2010 season SLU won the series two games to one.

Smooth Criminal - Junior 2B Brock Hebert is 9-10 in stolen bases this season.  His nine stolen bases is best in the Southland Conference.

Find a Way - The Lions .398 On-Base percentage ranks 2nd best in the SLC.  While hitting .267, which is 6th best in the SLC, the Lions are the league leaders in walks (63) and hit by pitches (27).  Add to that the Lions are the 2nd hardest team to strike out with only 62 strike outs through 13 games.

The SAC Shack - The trade mark of Lions baseball has been playing fast and doing whatever it takes to score runs.  This year is no different as the Lions lead the conference in Sac Bunts (22) and Sac Flies (11).  The 22 sac bunts ranks 4th in the nation and their 27 hit by pitches rank 5th nationally.

Strong Arms - SLU's 2.52 ERA ranks 2nd in the league behind Texas State.  They are holding opponents to a .196 BA which ranks 1st.

Show Off That Arm - Senior catcher Jacob Fisher will be busy behind the plate this weekend as Nicholls State will be a threat on the bases.  The Colonels lead the SLC in steals with 36 and steal attempts with 45.

Moving Up the Ranks - With the Lions 10 wins this year Jay Artigues has moved into 9th place on the SLC All-Time Wins list passing Mitch Gaspard of Northwestern State with 211 wins.  8th on the list is Smoke Laval of UL-Monroe with 241 wins.

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