2016 Lamar Cardinals baseball team

The 2016 Lamar Cardinals baseball team represented Lamar University in the 2016 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Cardinals played their home games at Vincent–Beck Stadium and are members of the Southland Conference. The team was coached by Jim Gilligan in his 39th and final season at Lamar.

For information on all Lamar University sports, see Lamar Cardinals and Lady Cardinals
2016 Lamar Cardinals baseball
ConferenceSouthland Conference
2016 record35–19 (20–10 SLC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Will Davis (1st season)
  • Scott Hatten (16th season)
Home stadiumVincent–Beck Stadium
(Capacity: 3,500)
2016 Southland Conference baseball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Sam Houston State  ‍†‍‡‍y 24–6 .800  42–22 .656
Southeastern Louisiana ‍‍‍y 22–8 .733  40–21 .656
Lamar  ‍‍‍ 20–10 .667  35–19 .648
Northwestern State  ‍‍‍ 20–10 .667  33–24 .579
Central Arkansas  ‍‍‍ 16–14 .533  29–27 .518
McNeese State  ‍‍‍ 15–15 .500  31–25 .554
New Orleans  ‍‍‍ 14–16 .467  31–26 .544
Stephen F. Austin  ‍‍‍ 14–16 .467  30–30 .500
Nicholls State  ‍‍‍ 14–16 .467  26–30 .464
Houston Baptist  ‍‍‍ 12–18 .400  24–29 .453
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi  ‍‍‍ 8–20 .286  19–32 .373
Abilene Christian *  ‍‍‍ 8–21 .276  16–37 .302
Incarnate Word *  ‍‍‍ 5–22 .185  13–38 .255
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament
* Ineligible for league and NCAA tournaments due to transition from Division II
As of June 11, 2016[1]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

Previous Season

In 2015, the Cardinals finished the season 11th in the Southland with a record of 21–31, 9–18 in conference play. They failed to qualify for the 2015 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament.

Roster
2016 Lamar Cardinals roster[2]
 

Pitchers

  • 5 Galen Andrews - Junior
  • 6 Kyle Leggett - Senior
  • 11 Brent Janak - Junior
  • 12 Connor Thomas - Senior
  • 19 Billy Love - Senior
  • 20 Fernando Martinez - Senior
  • 22 Tyler Keegan - Sophomore
  • 27 Jimmy Johnson - Junior
  • 28 Jayson McKinley - Senior
  • 30 Enrique Oquendo - Senior
  • 31 Brett Brown - Junior
  • 34 Joe Farley - Senior
  • 35 Travis Moore - Senior
  • 37 Ryan Cawthorn - Senior
  • 40 Josh Crain - Freshman
  • 46 Matt White - Freshman
  • 48 Will Hibbs - Senior
  

Catchers

  • 32 Bryndan Arredondo - Junior
  • 33 Robin Adames - Freshman

Infielders

  • 2 Gaylen Tristan - Junior
  • 8 Ryan Erickson - Freshman
  • 9 Chaneng Varela - Junior
  • 17 Reid Russell - Junior
  • 18 Stijn van der Meer - Senior
  • 21 Jake Nash - Senior
  • 23 J. M. Kelly - Junior
  • 26 Brett Taff - Freshman
  • 44 Trey Silvers -Junion
  

Outfielders

  • 7 Brendan Satran - Junior
  • 24 Jacoby Middleton - Senior
  • 36 Cutter McDowell - Junior
  

Coaches
2015 Lamar Cardinals baseball coaching staff[2]
  • 29 Jim Gilligan - Head Coach - 40th year
  • 52 Will Davis - Head Coach in Waiting - 1st year
  • 10 Scott Hatten - Assistant Coach - 15th year
  • 50 Brandon Kirkham - Volunteer Assistant

Preseason

Staff changes

On September 21, 2015, the Cardinals head coach, Jim Gilligan, announced he will be retiring at the conclusion of the 2016 season.[3]

On January 15, 2016, Will Davis was named Jim Gilligan's successor beginning with the 2017 season. Davis was an assistant coach at LSU.[4][5][6] Will Davis joined the Lamar coaching staff as an assistant coach as the Cardinals' third base and running coach on February 11, 2016. He fills the position left by Jim Ricklefsen's departure following 18 years as an assistant coach.[7]

Preseason predictions and honors

The Cardinals were predicted to finish 9th in the Southland in the preseason Coaches and Sports Information Director polls.[8]

On February 10, two Cardinals were named to preseason Southland Conference All-Conference teams. Stijn van der Meer, playing short stop for the Cardinals, was named as a 1st Team All-Conference member, and Jake Nash, as third baseman was named as 2nd Team All-Conference member.[9]

Season

February

The Cardinals began Coach Jim Gilligan's final season with six straight wins sweeping Southeast Missouri State and with wins over #23 Arizona and #7 LSU and one win over North Dakota State. The game against LSU set a new attendance record for Vincent-Beck Stadium with 3,563 fans in attendance. On the downside, the Cardinals finished the month and the North Dakota State series with three straight losses to the Bison.

The Cardinals finished the month with an overall 6–3 record.

March

The month started with a win against Prairie View A&M, a 2-1 split series against UTRGV, a 1–2 series split against Northwestern State to begin conference play, followed by a loss to Houston. The month ended with a seven-game winning streak sweeping Central Arkansas and New Orleans in conference play as well as a non-conference win against Texas.

The Cardinals had an 11–4 record for the month of March for a cumulative record of 17–7. They also ended the month with a 7–2 record in Southland Conference play. The month ended with a 7-game winning streak.

April

The Cardinals continued the winning streak in April winning the first 8 games of the month. The winning streak ended at 15 straight following a 3–6 loss to the Baylor Bears in Waco. The Cardinals were ranked #25 in the April 11 Collegiate Baseball poll. The team dropped out of the poll following the loss to Baylor plus two losses to McNeese State. The Cardinals ended the month with a 14–3 record for the month. The cumulative record was 31-10. In conference play, the Cardinals had a 9-3 record for the month and a cumulative record of 16–5.

May

May saw the Cardinals opening the month with a 5-game losing streak. The team ended the regular season with a 4-7 record and an overall regular season record of 35-17. In conference play, the Cardinals had a 4–5 record for the month with a final conference record of 20-10.

The Cardinals qualified for the 2016 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament as the 4th seed. The Cardinals were eliminated from the tournament after losing their second game. Including tournament play, the Cardinals finished the 2016 season with a 35–19 overall record.

Post Season

Post Season Honors

Robin Adames was selected as a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American.[10]

Reid Russell was named Southland Conference Hitter of the Year. Stijn van de Meer, Will Hibbs, and Reid Russel were named to the first team Southland Conference All-Conference team. Jake Nash was named as a third team SLC All-Conference member. Jacob Middleton and Jimmy Johnson received SLC Honorable Mention honors.[11]

Reid Russell was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association Rawlings South Central All-Region first team.[12]

Reid Russell was one of eight Division I players invited to the 3rd annual College Home Run Derby at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska.[13][14] Russell finished the derby in 3rd place after competing in the semi-final round; missing the final round by one home run.[15]

Major League Draft and Free Agents
  • Major League Draft - Two Cardinals were selected in the Major League Baseball draft. Will Hibbs was a 19th round selection by the Philadelphia Phillies. Stijn van de Meer was selected by the Houston Astros in the 34th round.[16]
  • Free Agents - Enrique Oquendo signed a free agent contract with Los Angeles Angels shortly after the MLB draft.[17] Jason McKinley signed a free agent contract with the Tampa Bay Rays on June 20.[18]

Schedule
2016 Lamar Cardinals Baseball Game Log[19]
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement     Bold = Lamar team member
Regular Season
Post Season

References
  1. "Southland Conference - 2016 Standings". d1Baseball.com. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  2. "2016 Baseball Roster". Lamar Cardinals Athletics. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  3. Kendall Rogers (September 21, 2015). "Lamar's Jim Gilligan Retiring After 2016". D1Baseball.com. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  4. Randy Rosetta (January 15, 2016). "LSU assistant coach Will Davis will take charge of the Lamar program in 2017". The Times-Picayune - 2016 NOLA Media Group. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  5. Brian Foley (January 15, 2016). "Lamar hires LSU Assistant Will Davis as Head Coach for 2017 Season". College Baseball Daily. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  6. Kendall Rogers (January 15, 2016). "Lamar Hires LSU's Davis As Successor". D1Baseball.com. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  7. Danny Shapiro (February 12, 2016). "Gilligan's successor joins Lamar baseball staff". Hearst Newspapers II, LLC. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  8. "Southeastern Louisiana Picked to Win 2016 Southland Conference Baseball Title". Southland Conference. February 2, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  9. "Southland Announces Preseason All-Conference Baseball Teams". Southland Conference. February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  10. Matthew Fowler (June 8, 2016). "Adames named freshman All-American". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  11. "Southeastern Louisiana's Fisher Named Southland Baseball Player of the Year". Southland Conference. May 23, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  12. "2016 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Div. I All-Region Teams announced". American Baseball Coaches Association. June 15, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  13. "Field for College Home Rund Derby announced". Omaha Herald. June 30, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  14. "Contestants Named for the 2016 TD Ameritrade College Home Run Derby". Business Wire. June 30, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  15. James Dixon (July 3, 2016). "Russell Third in College Home Run Derby". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  16. Matthew Fowler (June 11, 2016). "Hibbs, van de Meer chosen in MLB draft". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  17. Matthew Fowler (June 14, 2016). "Oquendo signs with the Angels". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  18. Matthew Fowler (June 24, 2016). "McKinley signs with the Tampa Bay Rays". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  19. "2016 Baseball Schedule". Lamar Cardinals Athletics. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
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