May 20, 2009
SLC Tournament Central
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About Lamar
Lamar is 36-20 overall and enters as the No. 4 seed after a 20-13 record in SLC play, marking the Cardinals' third-consecutive 20-win conference season for the first time in school history ... LU has won 12 of its last 15 games, including four-consecutive SLC series with its last two over UTA and at SFA ... the last time the Cards entered the tourney with a similar stretch, they won the 2004 title after entering 11-4 over its final 15 games..
Lamar's Conference Tournament History 101
Lamar is 41-28 all-time in conference tournament play and has claimed Sun Belt tiles in 1993 and 1995, and Southland crowns in 2002 and 2004 ... the Cardinals are 12-3 in their opening-round games ... LU is 4-6 in championship games.
Lamar's SLC Tournament History 101
Lamar is making its 11th SLC Tournament appearance all-time and its nintth-consecutive since 2001 ... LU has an all-time SLC Tourney record of 24-16 ... the Cardinals have won titles in 2002 and 2004, while also reaching the championship game in 1968, 2001, 2005 and 2008 ... In 2004, Lamar became the first No. 1-seed to win the tournament since it was reinstated for the 1993 season ... Last season, Lamar belted a tournament-high 10 home runs over five games en route to reaching the championship game where the fell 15-7 to Sam Houston State.
Seven Cardinals Earned Degrees On May 15
A total of seven baseball players were among the 26 Lamar student-athletes who received their bachelor's degrees on Saturday, May 16. However, RHP Matt Gore, LF Tyler Link, RHP John Ross Ramirez, 2B Brian Taylor, RHP Ricky Testa, LHP Jordan Thibodeaux and 1B Steven Tucker.were in Nacogdoches, Texas for the series with SFA and unable to attend.
Six Cardinals Named To All-SLC Squad
Led by right-hander Eric Harrington being named Southland Conference Freshman of the Year, six Lamar student-athletes were named All-SLC ... Harrington was the lone LU selection on the first team, while senior shortstop Jeremiah Sammy, senior second baseman Brian Taylor and senior pitcher Ricky Testa grabbed second-team honors. Senior left fielder Tyler Link was named to the third team and senior third baseman Chris Dunkin received honorable mention plaudits ... Lamar now has 59 first-team SLC selections - the most of any league school - and 75 all-time since 1967 ... this marks the eighth-consecutive year at least one Cardinal has appeared on the first team.
Harrington Picks Up SLC Freshman of the Year
Freshman RHP Eric Harrington was named the SLC Freshman of the Year on Monday ... Harrington has fashioned an 8-1 record with a league-low 2.59 earned run average ... He has struck out 59 batters in 80 innings while holding opponents to a .281 average ... He has ranked among the top-25 nationally in wins and ERA all season in addition to collecting two complete-game victories which is first in the SLC and third in the country ... The freshman from Groves, Texas, is the third LU hurler to receive freshman of the year honors from the league joining Josh Gray in 2001 and Derrick Gordon in 2004 ... He becomes just the fourth played to be exclusively a pitcher to win it in the 10-year history of the award, joining Gray, Gordon and Jared Ferrans of UT Arlington in 2000.
Gilligan Sixth Among Active NCAA Division I Coaches
Lamar head coach Jim Gilligan entered the 2009 season 30th among NCAA Division I coaches with 1,104 career victories in 32 seasons (31 at Lamar and one at Western New Mexico). His total ranked him sixth among active Division I coaches. He enters the SLC Tournament at 1,140-702-7 all-time.
Lamar W-L Trends In 2009
Lamar is 25-7 when scoring first and 11-13 when allowing the opponent to put runs on the board first ... LU is 18-6 when scoring in the first inning ... LU has held six opponents scoreless this season, which is tied for the most in the nation (with six other teams), while not having been shutout in 111-consecutive games, dating back to the third game of last season - a 1-0 loss to Illinois (2/24) in Edinburg, Texas ... the Cardinals are 30-1 when out-hitting the opponent ... Lamar is 30-3 when leading after the sixth inning, 28-2 when leading after the seventh inning and 28-1 when leading after the eighth inning.
Team Hitting Notes
Lamar is hitting .305 entering the SLC Tournament and ranks eighth in the Southland ... Lamar has had at least 10 hits 33 times this season, including 15 of its last 18 games ... the Cardinals have double-figure hits in 21 of their 33 SLC games ... LU has 127 doubles (2.3 pg) and 13 triples (season-high two against Prairie View, 3/11 and UTPA, 3/31) ... the Cardinals have hit 52 home runs which currently ranks ninth in school history ... Lamar ranks eighth in the NCAA in walks with 280 - an average of 5.0 BB/gm.
Team Pitching Notes
Lamar ranks first in the SLC with a 4.39 ERA ... LU also leads the league in opp. BA (.275), strikeouts (441, 7.9 SO/gm), strikeouts looking (154), while ranking second in fewest runs allowed (221, 5.2 runs/gm) and fewest HR allowed (22) ... Lamar hurlers have struck out at least eight batters 27 times, with double-figure totals in 15 games ... the staff has only thrown 40 wild pitches this season, a figure that ranks as the third-lowest in the SLC ... opposing offenses are averaging 9.4 hits per game against Lamar.
Team Defense Notes
Lamar ranks tied for second in the SLC with a .970 fielding pct. and 65 errors ... LU has had 16 error-free games with six coming in 33 SLC games ... the Cardinals have committed just one miscue 16 times and two seven times ... Lamar has turned 44 double plays with a season-high three in the first game of Saturday's DH at UTSA.
Harrington's 7-0 Start Among Best In Lamar History
While we aren't saying freshman RHP Eric Harrington will be the best pitcher in school history, he has steadily put together a memorable rookie campaign. He opened the season with a perfect 7-0 start before suffering his first defeat against UTA two weeks ago. The 7-0 start to his season is tied for the third-best start in school history.
Brian Taylor Chasing The Lamar Triple Crown
Senior 2B Brian Taylor leads the team in six offensive categories and is second in four others. Of note are that he leads the team in batting avg. (.381) and RBI (59), while tied for first in home runs (7) with his best friend Tyler Link. Should he maintain his lead in the first two categories and pass Link for the lead in long balls, at the end of the season, he would become the 14th player in school history and the first since Michael Ambort in 2005. He would also be the first second baseman to accomplish the feat at Lamar.
Lamar In The National Rankings
Lamar entered the national rankings on March 2 following its 9-1 start to the season, which included the school-record nine-consecutive wins to open the slate. It marked the Cardinals' first ranking since Mar. 15, 2004, when they were ranked No. 28 by Collegiate Baseball following a 15-4 start. The last time Lamar cracked the top 25 came on Feb 23, 2004, when they were No. 24.
We're Going Streaking!
Brian Taylor brings an 8-game hitting streak into the SLC Tournament, which includes eight active stretches by everyday players. Taylor had a season-long 12-game streak come to an end at UTSA, falling just shy of his career-best 13-game streak from March 25-April 13 of last season. In the weeks since, both Tyler Link and Quentin Luquette have compiled 13-game streaks, which are both tied for the 11th-longest in school history and the longest since David Moore ended the 2008 season on a 13-game tear.
Brian Needham Climbing LU Appearance Chart
Senior RHP Brian Needham is steadily moving up the school's career appearance chart, currently ranking fourth at 85. He has shared the closer role this season with James Brandhorst and Taylor McInnis, recording two saves with a 3-3 record in 29 appearances with a 3.81 ERA. He has struck out 53 batters with just 14 walks over 54.1 innings of work.
