HBU tries to recapture 2015 magic
NCAA bid looks to be anybody’s for taking at Constellation Field
A lot of the encouragement Houston Baptist needs ahead of the 2017 Southland Conference baseball tournament can be found in series sweeps against two of the conference’s marquee teams, Sam Houston State and Southeastern Louisiana.
On the other hand, HBU was swept by Stephen F. Austin to end the regular season.
The lesson here: Anybody can beat anybody in the Southland.
“In this league, it’s anybody’s ballgame at this point,” HBU coach Jared Moon said. “Some good teams have been beaten by the lower teams and vice versa. We’ve been fortunate to play well against the top half of the league — against Southeastern and Sam Houston — and we’ve struggled against other teams.
“It’s just which team is going to show up on that given day.”
No. 4-seeded HBU meets No. 5 seed Central Arkansas at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Constellation Field in Sugar Land.
The Huskies (26-23, 18-12 Southland) have the talent and know-how to take it all and relive their NCAA Tournament berth of 2015. But Moon knows his club has to be more consistent than it has been all year in a tournament it has to win.
Moon knows a little something about having to win a conference tournament at all costs, considering that 2015 campaign. But the conference’s landscape has changed a bit since then.
The Southland had two NCAA Tournament representatives last
year in SHSU and SLU, and those two programs, along with No. 1-seeded McNeese State, lead the pack in Sugar Land. Moon believes teams like McNeese State and SLU might even have a chance at at-large NCAA bids.
But parity makes sure the rest of the field isn’t excluded from winning the tournament.
“It’s a good league,” Moon said. “For the most part, most of the teams in it could switch uniforms and be the same exact team. Again, it’s just who’s going to show up and get hot at the right time.”
Moon said HBU’s pitching and defense have been solid all year long. But the hitting will be key this week. When it’s there for the Huskies, they are usually tough to beat.
Outfielders Spencer Halloran and Zane Otten are the leaders at the plate. Otten is hitting .327 with 16 RBIs, and Halloran leads the team with 60 hits.
Shortstop Tyler Depreta-Johnson — an all-conference defensive team pick — is a reason Moon is so confident in his team’s fielding.
Addison Russ will start on the mound Wednesday for HBU. Moon calls the righthander one of the better arms in the league, but giving him run support will be crucial to getting into the winners bracket. Southland reliever of the year JT Newton will be relied on, too.
Ultimately, the same mentality that helped HBU in 2015 applies this week.
“We’re at the point in the year where we can’t make any mistakes,” Moon said. “We can’t miss on getting the bunt down. We can’t miss on executing a hit-and-run. Pitchers are going to have to be able to execute pitches.
“It’s not like we have another weekend to bounce back. It’s got to happen now.”