Baseball Lions in Austin this Weekend

SAGU seeks first RRAC win against HT Rams

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Southwestern Assemblies of God University baseball team makes their first conference road trip this weekend to face Huston-Tillotson University.

The Lions are 3-5 overall and 0-3 in the Red River Athletic Conference. The team was swept at home by perennial power UT-Brownsville a week ago. Southwestern was on the short end of a 32-6 run differential against the Scorpions.

Tillotson brings an 0-3 mark in all games as well as its' league ledger. The Rams dropped three to Northwood University by a combined score of 27-11.

Last spring the Lions lost two of the three games played between the schools.

The pitching rotation for this weekend's three-game set begins with sophomore righthander Michael Reeves (Ovilla, Tx / Ovilla Christian). He gets the ball for today's 2:00pm game.

Saturday, February 19, will see junior Chris Stanley (Harker Heights, Tx / Ellison HS) on the hill in the first game of a doubleheader. Jared Jones (Copperas Cove, Tx / Copperas Cove HS), a rugged sophomore, gets the nod in the nightcap. Both of Saturday's hurlers are righties. All three starters have an 0-1 won-lost record.

Projected LION-Up

The batting and fielding line-up is subject to change, depending on who pitches. Also a critical factor is how quickly David Gomez (Del Rio, Tx / Bowie HS) bounces back from a banged up knee. If the junior isn't cleared to play, Hayes will probably go with freshman Weston Lippe (Huntsville, Tx / Alpha-Omega Christian) at shortstop in a game-time decision.

The probable line-up card is as follows for Friday:

Order           Player                           Position

1                   Dustin Jett                   Centerfield

2                   Cameron Ward            Designated Hitter

3                   Jared Denton               Leftfield

4                   Patrick Wherland         Rightfield

5                   DuJuan Prater              First Base

6                   Ben Chavez                   Second Base

7                   Dom Denney                 Catcher

8                   Jared Jones                   Third Base

9                   David Gomez                 Shortstop

Sean Armstrong (Albuquerque, NM / Manzano HS) will serve as a courtesy runner for Denney. When Jones takes the mound on Saturday, Riley Hensel (Maypearl, Tx / Maypearl HS) will step in at 3rd Base. As always, line-ups are subject to change.

Have a Need to Know?

KEEPING UP WITH THIS JONES: Starting pitcher Jared Jones, pictured against UTB last weekend. Photo by Gina Godding.For more details on the Lions - teams and player statistics, visit the RRAC website. Click on Baseball (left column). When the standings appear, click on SW Assemblies to access a complete list of stats. Also, on the front page of the baseball standings - in the far right column, are current scores from each of the games.