*Lamar vs. Hou. Baptist Series Thread*

[KFDM COOP]

nm

[KFDM COOP]

2-0 LU falls in game 1.

[Chucky]

Terrible offensive output again. Good pitching no hitting.

[ForeverADog]

Gametime today has been moved to 3 pm cause of incoming rain. I hope someone tells our bats. Not defending anyone but HBU played great defense. They had 4 diving catches in the outfield. I was impressed. Still no excuse to get shut out.

[ForeverADog]

Tommy Roebuck started today and got hit real hard. 3 runs in two innings. Had two hard hit balls that turned into double plays that helped him out. Our bats are still lost somewhere. 3 to 0 HBU after the third.

[ForeverADog]

9 to 4 in the 7th. HBU ahead. Everyone is getting a turn for Lamar

[ForeverADog]

12 to 4 LU gets swept.

[Guest baseball25]

Just get another conf series win this weekend, but wow losing to hbu brutal.

[ForeverADog]

When I said everyone got to pitch I mean everyone. Ryan Meade pitched the 9th. He is our first baseman got his first IP of the year.

[Guest baseball25]

Yeah I hear ya, still excuses it's Houston baptist who had 4 wins before they played Lamar and 3 of those wins came against div 1 teams.

[ball4]

Some mid-week games are meant to boost confidence, era's, batting averages and so on and this should've been the team to do it against.  Not looking good for the rest of the season i would say.

[AJ25]

Lets hope this can be blamed on not wanting to use the weekend starts, which is totally understandable. Luckily, this has no effect on the season.. But they have to win this series this weekend.

[Chucky]

Get a grip AJ. The 3 picthers who did not pitch would not have made any difference  whatsoever. Ford gave up 0 hits thru 4 on Tuesday and the other kids gave up ony a couple. Still no "W". Yesterday was a blip on the radar overall when it comes to how the pitching usually throws. Most of those kids who threw Wed. have thrown just fine this year. The only consistent thing we have going now is that we are losing and that starts at the top not the bottom. Leadership from the coaches to the vets have to moderate that.

[ForeverADog]

Baseball25, HBU now has 10 wins this year. Not 4 like you said. Still not any good but I was just saying. And I know 3 or 4 of the pitchers used Wednesday have a combined innings pitched total of less than 3. So I know they weren't were they should be at the point in the season on the mound. The problem is the bats. 5 runs in the last 3 games won't cut it at any level. And 2 of those games were against pitchers who could barely hit 80 on the gun. That better change quick. Or we will be watching the Southland tourney.

[Guest baseball25]

your wrong my brother, alot of experts  don't count div 2 or div 3 school wins if a div 1 team beats them. 


http://warrennolan.com/baseball/2010/schedule/Houston%20Baptist

[ForeverADog]

Well I was just going by the roster sheets they passed out at the game. I understand what you're saying now. Either way we never should have lost those 2 games.

[Guest baseball25]

your exactly right man, I am just tired of everyone not being realistic and I wish they would just look at the bigger picture and realize that Lamar's program is going in a direction that it shouldn't go and thats Downhill.

[ForeverADog]

I agree but I don't think they are that far down yet. We finished third last year. Yes we are having a bad year this year. But we are still consistently a top 4 team in the conference and really that is all we have ever been. I would personally agree more if you said coach G would not be able to take us to the next level. That's what Lamar should strive for. Strive for a perrenial regional team. And occasional super regional. I don't think Gilligan could ever lead us there. Just keep us on the upper level of the SLC which isn't much.

[Guest baseball25]

Exactly, It seems to me that Lamar is just happy making the Southland tourney and finishing in the top 4, you need to strive to make regionals each and every yr and maybe get lucky and make it to regionals and I believe with all my heart Gilligan is not the man to do that, I hope I am wrong, but with Football coming back lamar getting better facilities, I gurantee you that lamar could get a good name guy to come in and get the program and I got the perfect guy-[b]Dan Heefner[/b].

Dan Heefner is entering his sixth season with the DBU Baseball Team and third season as the Patriots’ Head Coach. It did not take Heefner long to make a mark at DBU after being named the sixth head coach in DBU history in July of 2007.

Heefner led the Patriots to several historic milestones for the DBU Baseball Program in his first year as Head Coach. In 2008, the Patriots earned their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance by receiving a #2 seed in the College Station Regional. DBU's at large bid marked the first time an NCAA Division I Independent team made the tournament since 1992.

DBU earned their #2 seed by finishing the regular season with a 37-17 record and the 29th best RPI in the nation. The Patriots earned their high RPI by playing against and beating some of the best Div I teams in the nation. DBU picked up two victories over Rice, Oral Roberts, Texas Tech and Sunbelt Champion Louisiana-Monroe while also defeating Texas A&M and Baylor.

The 2009 season proved to be very successful, as well, as the Patriots accumulated a 38-17 record while finishing the regular season with the 36th best RPI in the nation. Once again the Patriots played an outstanding schedule picking up victories against Texas A&M, Baylor, Texas Tech, Oral Roberts, Sam Houston and Jacksonville. In Heefner’s first two seasons as head coach, DBU has averaged nearly 38 wins a year giving DBU the 18th best winning percentage in all of Div I baseball over the two year span.

The team's success has resulted in individual accolades for Heefner along with numerous Patriot players. Following DBU’s 2008 Regional appearance, The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) named Heefner the Midwest Region Coach of the Year and Rivals.com named him one of the Top 5 Rising Coaches in the nation. Heefner has also won the Independent Coach of the Year award in each of the last two seasons.

The Patriots have also seen numerous players get rewarded for their individual success. In 2008, Evan Bigley and Ryan Goins were both named to the ABCA Midwest All-Region Team. Bigley was also the Rawlings Div I Center Field Gold winner. Chris Haney was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American and the Patriots had seven players named to the All Independent team.

The success of the 2009 team brought about even more awards for the Patriots. Six players were named to the NCAA Division I All-Independent Team, three to the All-Independent Academic Team as well as the numerous All-American and All-Region honors seen below.

2009 DBU Patriot Individual Honors

Ryan Goins            * 2nd Team All-American: All-Ping Baseball
                              * 3rd Team All-American: Baseball America,
                              Louisville Slugger, Pro-Line/NCBWA
                              * 2nd Team All-Region: American Baseball
                              Coaches Association
                              All Independent Player of the Year

Jason Krizan            * 3rd Team All-American: American Baseball
                                Coaches Association
                                 * 1st Team All-Region: American Baseball
                                 Coaches Association

Ryan Enos                 * 3rd Team Academic All-American: CoSID
                                 * 1st Team All-Region: American Baseball
                                 Coaches Association

Ryan Behmanesh       * 3rd Team Freshman All-American: All-Ping
                                   Baseball
       
Three of the Patriots who made a major contribution to the Patriots success in 2009 were rewarded by being selected in Major League Baseball's first year player draft. Junior pitcher Victor Black became the highest drafted player in DBU baseball history when he was selected in the Supplemental 1st Round by the Pittsburg Pirates with the 49th overall pick. The power right-handed pitcher finished the year with 99 strikeouts in 88 innings of work. Ryan Goins followed Black by being selected in the 4th Round and the 130th overall pick. Senior catcher Brandon Bantz was the third DBU player selected when the Seattle Mariners selected him the 30th Round.

Players going on to professional baseball has been nothing new for the Patriots or for players that Heefner has coached. Throughout his career, Heefner has seen 33 of the players he has coached go on to play professional baseball, including 21 DBU Patriots in the last four years alone.

Heefner has led the Patriots to a great deal of success on the field, but it was far from the teams' sole focus. The team has a discipleship program which is designed with opportunities to challenge players at all levels of spiritual maturity. The Patriot baseball team has also embraced DBU's mission of developing servant leaders by participating in numerous service activities in the community and even internationally. Over the past two years the Patriots have served in the San Gabriel Orphanage and conducted three baseball clinics while on a mission trip to Guatemala, volunteered at the North Texas Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity and at the Special Olympics of Texas Track and Field Championship. The Patriot baseball team has excelled in the classroom as well, posting a 3.1 team GPA in 2008 and 3.24 in 2009.

Prior to taking over as head coach at DBU, Heefner developed the Patriots into one of the most powerful offensive teams in the nation as the DBU hitting coach. DBU has inserted itself into the college baseball spotlight by being nationally ranked in at least five offensive categories each year. The Patriots offensive success has continued with Heefner as head coach with the Patriots best offensive year to date coming in 2009.
DBU Patriot Offensive National Rankings

2009- 5th Slugging % (.582), 7th Homeruns (102 or 1.85/game), 7th Scoring (9.4/game), 10th in total runs (515), 12th Batting Avg (.343), 14th Doubles (139 or 2.53/game), and 18th in total hits (681).

2008 - 24th Batting Avg. (.323), 37th Slugging % (.492), 41st Runs Scored (7.7/game), 43rd Doubles (2.23/game), 46th Hits (655)

2007 - 9th Homeruns (1.25/game), 13th Scoring (7.6/game), 23rd Doubles (2.17/game), 24th Slugging % (.479/game), 27th Triples (.36/game)

2006 - 4th Homeruns (1.54/game), 5th Slugging % (.518), 6th Triples (.50/game), 10th Runs Scored (8.4/game), 15th Doubles (2.25/game)

2005 - 3rd Doubles (2.69/game), 7th Batting Avg. (.329), 9th Slugging % (.510), 10th Triples (.45/game), 17th Scroing (7.9 runs/game)

Prior to coming to DBU, Heefner was an Assistant Coach at Creighton University and the University of Northern Iowa. While at Creighton, he was the hitting and catching coach. Under his guidance in 2004, the Bluejay hitters saw an improvement in nearly every statistical category from the 2003 season including a 24-point increase in batting average. Defensively, the Bluejay catchers contributed to Creighton’s nation leading .982 fielding percentage, the second best in NCAA history.

While working with the hitters at UNI his 2003 team led the Missouri Valley Conference in 10 offensive categories in conference play. His 2002 squad also had the highest batting average of any team in conference play.

As a player, Heefner was named an All-American in his junior and senior season years at Olivet Nazarene University, an NAIA school in Kankakee, Ill.  He led the nation in both home runs (22) and RBIs (102) in 2000. Prior to transferring to ONU, Heefner played two years at the University of Northern Iowa.

He received his bachelor’s degree from Olivet Nazarene University and his Master’s Degree from the University of Northern Iowa. Heefner and his wife Liz reside in Cedar Hill, Texas with their sons Luke (6), David (4), Zachariah (2), and Titus (1). The Heefners attend Mansfield Bible Church.

[ForeverADog]

I'm sure he would be great here bt there is no way Gilligan gets fired in the next two years. And he will probably have a better job than Lamar by then.

[Guest baseball25]

your right Gilligan is so EGOTISTIC that he's going to try and leave on his own terms, and the more he keeps being like that the worse the program is going to get, but you know what maybe if he would hire some big time assistants maybe the program could get going again, one thing though the program needs a change and if its reload with new assistant coaches then maybe the program can get back on track.

[ForeverADog]

I think we do need a jolt of energy into the program just don't know how we should do it.

[Guest baseball25]

Not hard, FSU did it to the Greatest Football coach ever Bowden, Because there program was going into a direction they didn't want it to go, so they fire him was it the right thing to do no, but was it the right thing to do for the PROGRAM YES.

[Ruckdad]

I think Dallas Baptist is a better job right now than Lamar.

[Chucky]

Lamar has very good assistants and if you think that is the problem then you certainly do not know what is going on in that program. Gilligan is "micro managing" that ball team and is taking the life out of it along with him. Rickelfson is a really good recruiter and excellent baseball man who has plenty of years in the game. We lost a really good pitching coach last year due to Gilligan's changing everything the guy did with those guys. If you would watch and just listen a little closer you would see all of that yourself. Any way best of luck to the entire team this weekend and I hope they sweep and get back into the mix so to speak.