SHSU enters region with top local trio

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – The Sam Houston State University baseball team enters the NCAA Fort Worth Region tournament this weekend relying on a trio of local talent. The Bearkats are making their third consecutive region appearance after winning the Southland Conference championship for a third year in a row.

Sam Houston takes on Dallas Baptist at 2:30 p.m. Friday in the region opener before host TCU faces Siena at 7 p.m. Friday in the four-team, double-elimination event.

The tournament continues on Saturday and into a 7 p.m. Sunday championship game. A second championship game, if necessary, is slated for 7 p.m. Monday. All games will be aired on ESPN3.

The winner moves on to the Super Regions with a chance to advance to the College World Series next month in Omaha, Nebraska.

Senior catcher Anthony Azar leads the way for Sam Houston. A 2010 All-State Third Team player for The Woodlands High School baseball team, Azar was recently named Southland Conference Player of the Year. He is the first Bearkat to earn the honor.

Azar, also the first player from Sam Houston to be named a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award – given to the nation’s top catcher - ranked among Southland Conference’s top players in seven different categories this season. He led the lead in slugging percentage (.560) and was second in RBI (47) and total bases (122).

Third in the conference in batting average (.376) and homers (nine), Azar was also fourth in hits (82) and on-base percentage (.454). He also led the lead from behind the plate, throwing out 20 attempted base-stealers.

Azar enters the region tournament on a nine-game hitting streak. A first-team selection, he is one of eight players from Sam Houston to be named to the All-Southland Conference Team.

Sophomore shortstop Corey Toups is another. He was named to the honorable mention list. The 2010 District 14-5A Most Valuable Player, Toups led the College Park High School baseball team to the league title.

Toups hit .297 for the Bearkats this season, with seven homers and 28 RBI in 172 at-bats over 48 games. He is coming off an injury that sidelined him for the 2013 season after starting all 62 games for Sam Houston as a freshman.

Junior Andrew Godail could play a key role as well in the Bearkats’ success this weekend. An All-State pitcher for The Woodlands High School baseball team, Godail is 3-0 this season with a 2.12 ERA in 15 appearances (three starts). He struck out 28 batters over 29 2/3 innings of work.

The Kats are no strangers to two opponents at the region tournament, taking two of three games from Dallas Baptist in late February that started a week which included a 3-1 win over No. 10 Rice and a 9-4 victory over TCU.

Toups went 6-for-10 in the three-game series with Dallas Baptist, scoring four runs while driving in another. Godail started the middle game of the that series and picked up the win with five innings of work while allowing just three hits and one earned run.

Azar delivered against TCU going 2-for-5 with a triple. He drove in a run and scored another while Toups added a double, scored a run and added an RBI as well.

Sam Houston has won 14 of its last 15 games, including 12 straight in conference play to close the regular season.