Senior third baseman Seth Hammock earned first-team all-conference honors after batting .380 last year.-Courtesy: Southland.org
FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
For the second year in a row and the fifth time in school history, Sam Houston State earned an NCAA Division I baseball national tournament berth in 2008.
The Bearkats swept unbeaten through the Southland Conference tournament held at Don Sanders Stadium in Huntsville. Sam Houston defeated No. 2 seed Lamar 15-7 in the finals. In the NCAA Regional in Houston, the Kats battled No. 1 seed Rice to the last out, falling 3-2. Sam Houston fell to No. 2 seed Texas in the second round.
The NCAA Regional appearance capped another outstanding season for coach Mark Johnson’s baseball team. In his two years, Johnson has directed Sam Houston to 40 victories in 2007 and 37 in 2008. Those 77 wins represent the most wins in consecutive seasons by a Bearkat team since SHSU won 45 and 44 games in 1986 and 1987.
Sam Houston rolled up its 37-25 won-loss mark in 2008 in record-setting fashion. The Bearkats set both school and Southland Conference records with a team batting average of .335 and 457 RBIs. Other team school records established in 2008 included most hits (740), doubles (144), triples (25) and at bats (2,212).
Nineteen lettermen return in 2009, but the Bearkats have some major holes to fill. Gone are All-Southland Conference outfielders Keith Stein (.355, 10 HR), Bobby Verbick (.343, 14 HR) and Todd Sebek (.357, 5 HR). Stein set a Sam Houston record with his .379 career batting average. Verbick was an All-American in 2007 and Sebek in 2008. Verbick was the MVP of the Southland tournament.
Heading the list of returning players are senior third baseman Seth Hammock and sophomore pitcher Dallas Gallant. Hammock was a first-team All-Southland selection. His .380 batting average was the 8th best in SHSU NCAA Division I play. Gallant also earned All-Southland honors, rolling up a 7-1 won-loss record in league play. A finalist for Freshman All-America honors, Gallant picked up two of the Bearkats’ four victories in the Southland Conference tournament to receive all-tournament recognition as well.
Nick Zaleski, the only three-year letterman on the 2009 squad, returns at first base. The senior hit .317 last season. Seniors Heath Pugh (.284) and Mark Wyatt (.343) give the Bearkats two talented catchers. Braeden Riley and Daniel Nottebart saw extensive action in the infield as true freshmen.
Sam Houston returns a host of talented hurlers who performed well in their first NCAA Division I season last year including right-handers Guillaume Duguay, Ryan Tepera and Zach Neal and lefties Brent Powers and Matt Shelton.
Jacob Howard, an All-Southland Conference selection in 2007 who missed most of the 2008 season with an injury also returns.
Again, the Bearkats have strengthened their lineup with several top off-season signings.
Transfers include pitchers Nicholas Daniels (McLennan) and Jordan Westra (Kellogg), shortstop Jon Reed (Iowa Western) and outfielders John DeLaGarza (New Mexico JC), Tyler Knight (Neosho County, Tyler Lundy (Iowa Western), Justin Keithley (Richland) and Jared Wondra (Louisville).
Talented freshmen with the opportunity to make their mark include infielders Jordan Bunch (Pearland) and Peter Goudeau (Houston Lamar) and pitcher Sean Weatherford.
