JOURNAL SPORTS

Postseason baseball returns to Pilot Field today at 3 o’clock as No. 2 seed LSU Shreveport opens the Red River Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament first round against No. 7 seed University of the Southwest.

It will be the opening game of a best-of-three series with a trip to the RRAC final site in Sterlington on May 1-3 on the line. Game 2 is Saturday at 6 p.m. If necessary, Game 3 will be played Sunday at 1.

The reigning NAIA national champion Pilots (36-12 overall, with a final 20-7 RRAC mark) enter tournament play with momentum after closing the regular season with a 25-8 road win over Central Baptist and will look to continue their strong play at home, where they have posted a 27-4 record this season. Southwest  is 15-30, and finished 11-16 in the RRAC.

The teams met earlier this season at Pilot Field, where LSUS swept the three-game series by scores of 11-5, 10-3, and 13-3.

Coach Brad Neffendorf’s Pilots again own one of the nation’s most explosive offenses, hitting .347 as a team with 517 hits, 489 runs scored, 54 home runs, and 188 stolen bases. The Pilots’ lineup features production throughout the order, led by Carlos Sanchez, who enters the tournament batting .392 with 73 hits, 73 RBI, 11 home runs, and 28 extra-base hits in an attack averaging more than 10 runs per game.

The Mustangs are hitting .301 as a team but will have to solve a strong LSUS pitching staff.

The Pilots carry a 3.40 team ERA and have struck out 380 batters while holding opponents to a .242 average.  Brock Lucas has anchored the rotation with an 8-2 record, a 2.12 ERA, and 90 strikeouts, while  David Hankins has gone 7-1 with a 2.95 ERA.