2007 Baseball

After posting 5-34 and 3-18 season and conference marks in 2006, the 2007 Sul Ross State University Lobo baseball team will face some major rebuilding efforts this spring.

The Lobos will loose the services of second baseman Julian Delgado, slugger Rafael Gonzalez and hurler Jared Solis.

Delgado finished his Sul Ross campaign with a .270 batting average after 126 plate showings. Delgado finished with a .888 fielding percentage. He also garnered 2006 ASC West Division Honorable Mention honors.

Gonzalez posted a second team best .306 batting average with 123 at-bats. Gonzalez was also team second with 18 RBI’s. Gonzalez tied teammate Heraldo Salinas with 37 base hits.

Sul Ross will look to junior pitchers Cody Kemmerling and Harvey Cardiel, senior Nolan Porter and sophomore Orly Lujan. Kemmerling led the Lobos in 2006 with 31 strikeouts as both starter and relief. Lujan and Cardiel supplied 25 and 24 strikeouts respectively.

As a team, Sul Ross will look to rebuild at the plate finishing 2006 with a .242 batting average, down from .287 in 2005.

Sophomore Heraldo Salinas will add plate punch after finishing 2006 with six homers and a team best 21 RBI’s after 130 plate appearances. Salinas earned West Division Honorable Mention recognition as a freshman. Junior first baseman Sammy Robles brings extra strength and depth with a .258 batting average in 2006. Other top returners include Tury Cleto and Will Montano.

The Lobos will face two Division II and Lone Star Conference schools at home to start the 2007 campaign. Sully will open play on February 2 with a four-game series against Eastern New Mexico. Sul Ross will then face West Texas A&M University in a 3-game series on February 9 before taking on former NAIA and current Division II U.T. Permian Basin in a single game affair on February 18 in Odessa.

The Lobos will open conference play with a 3-game series on March 19 against McMurry in Abilene.