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Lions facing DCC in McKinney

Morgan, Worrell take the hill; SAGU needs sweep

WAXAHACHIE, Texas -- The doubleheader between Southwestern Assemblies of God University and Dallas Christian College scheduled for Tuesday, April 10, has been moved to the ballfields at Craig Ranch in McKinney.

Effects from Easter thunderstorms forced the change in venue from Dallas’ Reverchon Park, the former home of Southern Methodist University baseball, to the newer Craig Ranch complex.

The 14-diamond facility is located just north of the Sam Rayburn Tollway (Highway 121) at 6151 Alma Road in McKinney, thirty miles north of Dallas. (Directions are listed below)

Set for a 1:00pm start, the twinbill will feature the Hensel Brothers on opposite sidelines. Riley Hensel (Maypearl, Tx / Maypearl HS) is a four-year third baseman for SAGU, while Rusty is a freshman slugger for Dallas Christian (10-23 record).

The teams split earlier this season in Waxahachie. On February 7 they topped the ‘Saders 3-1 before losing the nightcap by a 6-1 verdict.

The two schools have enjoyed a history of healthy competition in various sports, including basketball and soccer.

Lefties are just right for Lions

The Lions’ Head Coach, Jonathan Shockley plans to start a pair of left-handers against the Crusaders; 6-foot-3 senior Nic Morgan and Zach Worrell, a freshman.

Morgan (Ft. Worth, Tx / LeTourneau Univ, Boswell HS), 2-5, is the staff ace, while Worrell (Ft. Worth, Tx / Central Christian College, LD Bell HS), 1-1, will be making his third start.

SAGU enters the final 10-game stretch of the regular season needing seven more wins in order to qualify for the National Christian College Athletic Association’s Central Regional tournament in Denver (May 3-5).

Currently, the Lions are 11-22. A 7-3 finish would give them an 18-25 mark and a winning percentage of .419, enough for a bid.

Sultans of Swat; batting leaders

SAGU is led in hitting by freshman second baseman Donovan Vess (Ft. Worth, Tx / Eastfield College, Lake Worth HS). He swings a .358 batting average and a .484 slugging percentage. His 22 runs batted in and nine extra-base hits are both tops on the club.

Along with Ben Chavez (Roswell, NM / NM Military Institute, Gateway Christian HS) and Taylor Froelich (Lee's Summit, Mo / Lee's Summit West HS), the team has three players with one home run.

Among Vess’ other accomplishments this season, he is the most difficult player for opposing pitchers to strike out. In 95 official at bats, he has fanned only five times; or, once every 19 times to the plate.

Mario Mendoza (Ft. Worth, Tx / Grambling State Univ, Polytechnic HS) is a close second; whiffing just nine times in 94 at bats.

Other leaders in batting average include Mendoza at .319, Jared Denton (Mission, Tx / Sharyland HS) .311, Enrique Rodriguez (Ft. Worth, Tx / Ranger JuCo, Nolan Catholic HS) .286, Dustin Jett (Patterson, La / Patterson HS) .284 and Hensel .282.

Following Vess in RBI’s are Chavez and Mendoza with 13 apiece, Denton with 12 and 11 off the bat of Jett.

Jett has yet to be caught in 16 stolen base attempts, while Mendoza is 12-of-14 and Vess is 11-of-12. Rockie Davis (Santa Fe, Tx / Santa Fe HS) is 7-for-7 in thefts.

Pitcher's favorite letters; 'W' and 'K'

The pitching staff leader in wins is senior righty Chris Stanley (Harker Heights, Tx / Harker Heights HS) at 3-0. Mendoza is 2-0. Closer Tim Kolczak (San Antonio, Tx / F.E.A.S.T., Taft HS) has a pair of saves and has yet to be touched for an earned run.

Tops among strike outs per nine innings are two southpaws; Worrell at 10.6 and Mendoza at 10.1. By fanning four in a four inning stint, shortstop Jacob Spivey (Georgetown, Tx / Harker Heights HS) would register 9.0 in a nine-inning game.

Sophomore John Savis (Canton, Tx / Canton HS) totes an 8.5 K’s-per-nine average; Stanley 7.1, Robert Elles (Red Oak, Tx / Red Oak HS) 6.7, senior lefty Trevor Schexneider (Elizabethtown, Ky / Elizabethtown HS) 6.3, Michael Reeves (Red Oak, Tx / Ovilla Christian) 6.0, Morgan 5.4, Davis 5.4, Daniel Reinhardt (Abilene, Tx / Vancouver Christian HS) 4.5 and Kolczak at 3.0.

Opposing batters had little success against Mendoza, batting a collective .022 before he strained his elbow. He threw a no-hitter and a one-hitter in 16 innings. Spivey has held batters to a .188 BA, Reeves .194, Kolczak .217 and Worrell at .255 as the Lions Top Five.

Detailed team and player statistics are located at www.redriverconference.com.

In the left column, click on baseball. Then, click on SW Assemblies of God in the standings for the Lions schedule, results and roster. At the top, click on statistics.

Senior Day this weekend

The Lions’ final homestand is this weekend. They will play host to the University of the Southwest, from Hobbs, New Mexico, in a three-game set at the Waxahachie Sports Complex.

Currently, SAGU hosts the Mustangs in a solo game at 4:00pm on Friday, April 13, with a noon doubleheader set for Saturday.

Discussions could see the teams play twice on Friday instead, with nine seniors honored between the two games. An announcement will be posted at www.sagu.edu/athletics.

USW is 15-25 overall and 10-11 in games against teams in the Red River Athletic Conference. Last year the Ponies were 15-32.

SAGU won the first game in 2011, 5-2, before Southwest took the next two.

Contact: Mark “Link” Warde, SAGU Sports Information Director, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 469-658-2847.

DIRECTIONS to TUESDAY’s GAMES
From Interstate 75 North (Central Expressway), exit State Highway 121, loop around, and go West approximately 5 miles.

The Ballfields at Craig Ranch and Gabe Nesbitt Field are located at the northeast corner of Alma Road and State Hwy 121.