Sun Belt Conference Weekly News and Notes (Full PDF)
2015 Sun Belt Conference Composite Schedule
2015 Sun Belt Conference Standings
2015 Sun Belt Conference Statistics
Around the Sun Belt Conference
UL Lafayette's Tony Robichaux goes for his 1,000th career win on Tuesday night as the Ragin' Cajuns host McNeese State in midweek action. What stands out with tonight's matchup is the fact that Robichaux began his head coaching career at McNeese State before becoming the Cajuns head coach.
Robichaux has compiled a 999-649-1 record in his career as a head coach. Last week the Cajuns went 3-1 posting a win over Northwestern State in midweek action and then took two-of-three from Stony Brook this past weekend in Lafayette.
After battling McNeese on Tuesday night the Cajuns will travel to Tuscaloosa to take on No. 25 Alabama in a three-game set.
However, the big story remains the weather issues many teams across the country face, including several in the Sun Belt. As of Tuesday morning four games were either postponed or canceled with more wintry weather on the way in many parts of the country.
Last weekend weather played a huge factor in many games as several were either canceled, postponed or moved to a different location. Applachian State, UALR and Arkansas State all played games in different locations as originally scheduled last weekend. The Mountaineers were forced to move their home series with Canisius from Boone, N.C. to Lexington, S.C. while the Trojans of UALR were forced to play two games in Grand Prairie, Texas due to the cold weather in Little Rock.
The Red Wolves, scheduled to play in Natchitoches, La. for a tournament were forced to alter their plans and head East to Emerson, Ga. where they took on then seventh-ranked Louisville. The Red Wolves took two-of-three from the Cardinals as they dropped the finale.
A-State's Tyler Zuber was outstanding in his outing against Louisville in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday as he pitched eight shutout innings with three strikeouts as the Red Wolves won 4-1. Zuber was named the Sun Belt's Pitcher of the Week following his performance on the hill.
UL Monroe's Kodie Tidwell was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week after he helped guide the Warhawks to a 2-1 series win over Stephen F. Austin. Tidwell hit .583 from the plate with five RBI and two stolen bases. In Saturday's 10-3 win over SFA, Tidwell went 4-for-5 at the plate with two doubles and three RBI - tying career highs in hits, RBI and doubles.
Week 2 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week
Kodie Tidwell (UL Monore, Junior, SS)
Kodie Tidwell was a force at the plate as he helped the Warhawks pick up a 2-1 series win over Stephen F. Austin… For the series, Tidwell batted .583 with five RBI, four runs, two walks, two stolen bases and an OPS of 1.393 (.750 SLG; .643 OB %)… The junior shortstop did not strikeout during the series as he totaled 14 plate appearances… Tidwell tallied one hit, one run and one walk as the Warhawks blanked SFA, 5-0 in game one of Friday’s twinbill… Tidwell came alive in game two of the doubleheader as he tied career highs in hits (4), RBI (3) and doubles (2)… He also stole a base in the 10-3 over the Lumberjacks… In the finale, Tidwell finished with two hits, two runs and two RBI.
Week 2 Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week
Tyler Zuber (Arkansas State, Sophomore, RHP)
Sophomore starting pitcher Tyler Zuber had an outstanding performance against No. 7 Louisville as he helped the Red Wolves clinch the series victory with a 4-1 win in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader. Zuber pitched eight shutout innings and only allowed two singles with two walks and three strikeouts as he earned the win in only his second career start.
Player of the Week Archive
2.18 - Matt Rose, Georgia State
2.24 - Kodie Tidwell, UL Monroe
Pitcher of the Week Archive
2.18 - Nathan Bates, Georgia State
2.24 - Tyler Zuber, Arkansas State
Recent Results
Wednesday, February 18
UL Lafayette 7, Northwestern State 3
Friday, February 20
Iowa 3, UALR 1 ^
Arkansas State 8, Louisville 2
Georgia Southern 7, West Virginia 4
Georgia State 5, UMass Lowell 3
Saint Louis 2, Troy 1 &
UL Lafayette 7, Stony Brook 3
UL Monroe 5, Stephen F. Austin 0
UL Monroe 10, Stephen F. Austin 3
Maryland 8, South Alabama 0
UT Arlington 7, SE Louisiana 0
Wichita State 14, Texas State 1
Wichita State 6, Texas State 1
Saturday, February 21
Appalachian State 8, Canisius 4
Canisius 4, Appalachian State 3
Arkansas State 4, Louisville 1
West Virginia 12, Georgia Southern 4
UMass Lowell 5, Georgia State 3
Georgia State 11, UMass Lowell 9
Troy 2, North Florida 1
Stony Brook 4, UL Lafayette 1
UL Lafayette 2, Stony Brook 1
UT Arlington 3, Michigan State 1
Louisville 14, Arkansas State 8
Texas State 7, Wichita State 5
Missouri State 17, UALR 4 ^
No. 28 Arkansas 7, South Alabama 0
(5) Houston Baptist 2, UT Arlington 1
Sunday, February 22
Canisius 10, Appalachian State 3
West Virginia 2, Georgia Southern 15
UMASS-Lowell 9, Georgia State 2
Stephen F. Austin 8, UL Monroe 7
Iowa at UALR & CANCELED
Central Florida 7, South Alabama 5
Troy 10, Nicholls State 2 $
^ - Games moved to Grand Prairie, Texas
& - Game to be played in Plano, Texas
$ - Game Played at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium
Upcoming Games
Tuesday, February 24
Arkansas State at No. 23 Ole Miss 4:00 PM
The Citadel at Georgia Southern 5:00 PM
McNeese State at UL Lafayette 6:00 PM
Southern Miss at UL Monroe POSTPONED
South Alabama at Alabama State 6:00 PM
Troy at Samford 6:00 PM
UALR at Stephen F. Austin CANCELED
Wednesday, February 25
Georgia Tech at Georgia State 3:00 PM
Appalachian State at Wake Forest 4:00 PM
Georgia Southern at North Florida 5:00 PM
No. 6 Houston at Texas State 6:00 PM
SEMO at Arkansas State 6:00 PM
UL Monroe at Louisiana Tech POSTPONED
Abilene Christian at UT Arlington POSTPONED
Friday, February 27
Arkansas State at Houston Baptist 2:00 PM
SIU-Edwardsville at UALR 3:00 PM
Ohio at Georgia State 3:00 PM
UT Arlington at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3:00 PM
Central Michigan at Texas State 3:00 PM
Georgia at Georgia Southern 5:00 PM
Appalachian State at No. 18 Maryland 5:00 PM
Sam Houston State at UL Monroe 6:00 PM
UT Arlington at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 6:00 PM
Southern Mississippi at Troy 6:00 PM
UL Lafayette at No. 25 Alabama 6:30 PM
Brown at South Alabama 6:30 PM
Saturday, February 28
Arkansas State at Houston Baptist 1:00 PM
Brown at South Alabama 1:00 PM
Central Michigan at Texas State 1:00 PM
Southern Mississippi at Troy 1:00 PM
Georgia at Georgia Southern 1:00 PM
Ohio at Georgia State 1:00 PM
SIU-Edwardsville at UALR 2:00 PM
UL Lafayette at No. 25 Alabama 2:00 PM
UT Arlington at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 2:00 PM
Appalachian State at No. 18 Maryland 3:00 PM
Brown at South Alabama 4:00 PM
Central Michigan at Texas State 4:00 PM
Sam Houston State at UL Monroe 6:00 PM
Sunday, March 1
Appalachian State at No. 18 Maryland 11:00 AM
Central Michigan at Texas State 11:00 AM
Georgia at Georgia Southern 12:00 PM
Ohio at Georgia State 12:00 PM
SIU-Edwardsville at UALR 1:00 PM
UL Lafayette at No. 25 Alabama 1:00 PM
Sam Houston State at UL Monroe 1:00 PM
Brown at South Alabama 1:00 PM
UT Arlington at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 1:00 PM
Southern Mississippi at Troy 1:00 PM
Arkansas State at Houston Baptist 2:00 PM
Team News and Notes
Appalachian State
Appalachian State dropped 2-of-3 games to Canisius last weekend in Lexington, S.C. The series was originally scheduled to be a four-game set at Appalachian’s Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium but was moved to Lexington following a week of wintry weather that blasted much of North Carolina. Appalachian State has only lost three series to northern opponents since 2006 but two of those three series defeats have come at the hands of Canisius. The Golden Griffins took 3-of-4 games from the Mountaineers in Kannapolis, N.C. in 2008. For the weekend, the No. 1-4 hitters in Appalachian State’s lineup (Bradley Morton, Michael Pierson, Jaylin Davis and Dillon Dobson) combined to go 15-for-44 (.340) with two doubles, a triple, three home runs and 11 runs scored while the rest of the Mountaineers’ order combined to go 8-for-55 (.145) with a double and a triple and three runs scored. Weather continues to wreak havoc on the Mountaineers’ schedule for the upcoming week. Tuesday’s game at Wake Forest has been moved to Wednesday and the three-game weekend series versus Maryland, which was supposed to be played at Maryland, has been moved to Emerson, Ga.
UALR
Senior Tanner Rockwell went a perfect 4 for 4 against in the Trojans 17-4 loss to Missouri State on Saturday night. Rockwell’s stat line included four hits, a triple, two RBIs and a run. Rockwell is tied for the best on-base percentage in the Sun Belt at .571. Junior Ryan Scott currently leads the Sun Belt with a .467 batting average in 15 at-bats. Scott has seven hits, five runs and two doubles for the year. Scott also has the sixth-highest slugging percentage and third-highest on-base percentage in the Sun Belt at .600 and .556, respectively. The Trojans have caught six runners stealing this season, tied for first in the Sun Belt. Catcher Drew Merten is responsible for four of these. UALR has only allowed two stolen bases this season. Fielding has been another strong area for the Trojans so far, recording the third-highest fielding percentage in the conference at .973.
Arkansas State
The Arkansas State baseball squad won two of three games against the seventh-ranked Louisville Cardinals over the weekend for its first series win against a ranked opponent since taking two of three games from No. 18 Western Kentucky in 2010. The series was played at Perfect Game Park South in Emerson, Ga., after weather forced A-State to find another opponent for the weekend. The Red Wolves won the first game 8-2 before clinching the series win with a 4-1 victory in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader. A-State looked poised for a sweep but blew an 8-1 lead as Louisville salvaged the last game with a 14-8 win. Zach George led the Red Wolves with a .500 batting average over the weekend and now has a team-leading .409 average and .519 on-base percentage. George also extended his on-base streak to 25 games, a streak that spans three seasons. Tanner Ring hit a home run for the Red Wolves’ third homer of the season and A-State stole four bases as a team to improve to 12-15 on the season. Starters David Owen and Tyler Zuber both picked up their first victories of the season. Owen scattered eight hits over 5.2 innings and only gave up two runs with five walks and four strikeouts. Zuber tossed eight innings of scoreless ball and only allowed two hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Coulton Lee had another excellent outing as he tossed 2.1 scoreless innings in the game one victory. The sophomore allowed one hit and only walked one batter with three strikeouts as he kept his overall ERA to 0.00 through 6.1 innings this season. Jon Glidewell made his first appearance since the 2012 season when he started against Louisville. He had missed the previous two seasons due the injury but threw 5.1 innings against the Cardinals in the series finale. He allowed four runs on three hits with two walks and five strikeouts. He was in line for the win before UofL came back to win the game.
Georgia Southern
The Georgia Southern Eagles are tied for the best start in the Sun Belt Conference and are 5-2 after two weeks of play. The Eagles wrap up a season opening eight-game homestand on Tuesday against The Citadel. Georgia Southern will play their first road game of the season on Wednesday before returning home to host Georgia this weekend. The Eagles were 14-10 on the road a year ago. After taking the series from West Virginia over the weekend, GS has now won a series over a power 5 conference team in three-straight seasons. Georgia Southern will face a Southern Conference opponent in The Citadel for the first time since leaving the league after the 2014 season. The Eagles are 46-38 all-time against The Citadel and 23-16 at home. GS ranks second in the Sun Belt with a .296 batting average and is tied with Georgia State for the conference lead in runs scored (54). Freshman Will Hudgins has a hit in all seven games to start his career.
Georgia State
Matt Rose LEADS THE NATION with five home runs, and the junior infielder now has 20 career homers. He is tied for the Sun Belt lead with 10 RBI. Junior catcher Joey Roach went 9-for-19 with two homers, two doubles and nine RBI last week. In GSU’s win at Mercer, he had a grand slam and a two-run homer while driving in seven. Roach leads the Panthers with a .357 average and is third in the Sun Belt in RBI. Senior infielder Caden Bailey is Georgia State’s active leader in games (167), hits (196), runs (101), RBI (79) and doubles (27). He ranks first among active Sun Belt players and 17th in Division I in career hits. Friday starter Nathan Bates (2-0) allowed just one run on three hits in 13 innings to win his first two decisions. Only one of his three hits allowed has left the infield. Freshmen are playing key roles for the Panthers, led by starting shortstop Justin Jones, who is hitting .258 and is third on the team with seven RBI. Outfielder Will Johnson had four RBI in the UMass Lowell series, including a two-run, two-out triple that broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning of Game 3. Another freshman outfielder, Rhett Harper, belted a solo homer against Liberty, while first baseman Jack Thompson has played in every game but one. The Panthers swept the Feb. 16 Sun Belt Conference awards as infielder Matt Rose was named Sun Belt Player of the Week and Nathan Bates was selected Pitcher of the Week. Matt Rose earned Preseason All-America honors (D1Baseball, second team), becoming the third Panther in the last four years to be named to a Preseason All-America team. He joins outfielder Chase Raffield (2014) and relief pitcher Jake Dyer (2012). Georgia State leads the Sun Belt in runs, homers and slugging.
UL Lafayette
The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns baseball team went 3-1 on the week after picking up a 7-3 victory on the road at Northwestern State before taking two of three from Stony Brook at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field to open the home slate. Head coach Tony Robichaux needs just one win to reach the 1,000-career win plateau. Robichaux has a 999-649-1 record in 29 seasons. Freshman Gunner Leger picked up his first career victory against the Demons allowing two runs in five innings with four strikeouts. Joe Robbins had another breakout game in the win going 2-for-4 with a home run and tied a career high with four RBI. Against Stony Brook, the Cajuns evened their record with a 7-3 victory in the series opener. Following a 4-1 setback in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday, the Ragin’ Cajuns got some clutch hitting from Tyler Girouard in the eighth inning of the series finale to defeat the Seawolves 2-1 and take the series. Louisiana returns to action this week with a midweek game against McNeese State before heading to Birmingham, Ala. to face Alabama in a three game weekend series.
UL Monroe
ULM will play its first midweek games of the 2015 season as they host Southern Miss on Tuesday and make the short trip to Ruston, La. on Wednesday for a match-up against Louisiana Tech… ULM and Southern Miss battled twice in 2014, with the Golden Eagles taking both meetings… Wednesday’s meeting between ULM and Louisiana Tech marks the first meeting between the Warhawks and the Bulldogs since the 2008 season... During the ‘08 campaign, the Bulldogs claimed both meetings… ULM is coming off of a 2-1 weekend against Stephen F. Austin... ULM won both games on Friday (W, 5-0; W, 10-3)... After a day off due to weather, the Warhawks dropped the finale to the Lumberjacks, 8-7... With the 2-1 weekend, the Warhawks sit at 3-3 entering the midweek… After batting .245 during opening weekend, the Warhawk bats came alive in the three-game set against Stephen F. Austin... The Warhawks finished with a .324 BA as they pounded out 33 hits (nine doubles), 22 runs and 20 RBI during the three-game series... ULM also earned eight free passes and swiped eight bags in the series… Kodie Tidwell paced the Warhawks during the weekend, batting .583 and zero strike outs in 14 plate appearances... It marks the second straight weekend that a ULM batter did not strikeout (Keelin Rasch vs. Indiana State, Central Arkansas and Grambling State)... Tidwell finished the weekend with five RBI, four runs, two stolen bases and a OPS of 1.393 (.750 SLG % and .643 OB %)… Alex Hermeling and Brandon Bell recorded quality starts on Friday to lead the Warhawks to the doubleheader sweep… Alex Hermeling shined as he scattered four hits (all singles) and one walk during his eight innings on the hill... During his 106-pitch outing, the right-hander struck out seven batters... With his eight strong innings and a scoreless ninth by Anthony Herrera, the duo notched the first combined shutout for ULM since Apr. 23, 2013 (vs. Mississippi Valley State -- Tyler Bray, Alex Dumaine and Jared Dye)... Just three Lumberjacks reached third base during Hermeling’s outing and he tossed a pair of perfect frames (sixth and eighth)… Brandon Bell continued the quality start theme as he tossed six strong innings, allowing just three total runs (one earned) on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts... Trey Setzer and Logan Dopson combined to pitch the final three frames in the 10-3 win in the nightcap of the doubleheader… Keelin Rasch and Jacob Stockton led the Warhawks in game one of Friday’s twin bill... They each logged a 2-for-4 effort with one RBI and one run in the 5-0 win… Kodie Tidwell paced the Warhawks at the plate in game two of the doubleheader as he tied career-highs in hits (4) and RBI (3)... Nathan Pugh added two hits and two RBI, while Josh Faciane finished with two hits and two runs… In Sunday’s finale, Brayden Bouchey made his Warhawk debut as he got the start against the Lumberjacks... Bouchey made the most of his outing as he surrendered two unearned runs, two hits and one walk during five innings of work… Five different Warhawks tallied multiple hit performances in the series finale against Stephen F. Austin... Kodie Tidwell, Keelin Rasch, Jacob Stockton, Danny Springer and Josh Faciane each recorded two hits against the Lumberjacks... Tidwell also added two RBI and two runs, while Rasch had three RBI and Faciane scored twice.
South Alabama
South Alabama went 1-3 last week after defeating Auburn in a midweek contest before dropping three games to three different top-25 teams over the weekend at Stanky Field. The Jags knocked off Auburn 7-4 last Tuesday behind right-hander Austin Bembnowski, who tossed eight scoreless innings in relief and allowed just three hits while striking out six and issuing two walks. USA then fell to No. 13 Maryland 8-0 Friday, and was shut out Saturday by No. 15 Arkansas. The Jags fell to No. 22 Central Florida 7-5 on Sunday. South Alabama enters the week batting .288 as a team, while the pitching staff carries a 3.86 ERA into Tuesday’s contest at Alabama State. USA will then return to Stanky Field to host Brown in a four-game series over the weekend at Stanky Field.
UT Arlington
UT Arlington wrapped up its second week in the 2015 season with a 2-2 record. The Mavericks opened up the week with a daunting task on the road against No. 1 TCU. UTA brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning with two outs on the board before a ground out ended the game with the Mavs on the wrong end of a 4-1 decision. Next up for UT Arlington was the UTA Hilton Invitational at Clay Gould Ballpark. The Mavs opened up the invite with a 7-0 victory over Southeastern Louisiana while allowing the Lions only two hits in the game that lasted just under two hours. The Mavericks opened up Saturday’s play with a game against Michigan State. The Mavericks and Spartans both showed strength defensively, but UTA came away with the victory thanks to a three-run third inning. Closing out the tournament against Houston Baptist, the Mavericks struggled to heat up their bats as they registered just six hits in the 2-1 loss. The Mavericks will now host Abilene Christian on Wed. Feb. 25 at 6:30 p.m. before traveling to Corpus Christi for a four-game series against Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Feb. 27-March 1.
Texas State
Texas State picked up the team’s first victory of the season with a 7-5 victory over Wichita State on Sunday. Freshman Braden Pearson picked up the win on the mound while Cory Geisler earned the save. With the win, Texas State moves to 1-5-1 on the year. This week, Texas State will host No. 3 Houston on Goldy Night. The Bobcats will formally retire Paul Goldschmidt’s no. 37 jersey before the game Tuesday night. After Houston, Texas State will welcome Central Michigan to town for a four-game set with a 3 p.m. Friday game followed by a 1 p.m. doubleheader and an 11 a.m. Sunday game.
Troy
Troy finished 2-1 in the Cox Diamond Invitational. The Trojans fell 2-1 to Saint Louis in Friday’s opener before defeating North Florida 2-1 on Saturday and Nicholls 10-2 in Sunday’s finale. As a staff, Troy pitchers allowed just four earned runs in the three games and boast a Sun Belt Conference-best 1.72 ERA for the season. Corey Childress toss seven innings on Friday allowing one run on three hits. Grant Bennett went seven innings on Saturday surrendering an unearned run on three hits. Marc Skinner pitched the ninth inning against North Florida to earn his first save of the season. The Trojans also claim the highest batting average in the league with a .306 mark. Over the weekend, freshman Reid Long batted .571 (4-for-7) with four RBIs and his second home run of the year. Trevin Hall blasted his first long ball of the season and batted .455 with a pair of stolen bases.