Bearkats Defeats Islanders 6-3 To Take The Series

A five-run, fourth inning propelled the Sam Houston State (SHSU) Bearkat baseball team to a 6-3 victory over the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders and take the three game series.

The win improved their overall record to 31-12 and a Southland Conference (SLC) record to 19-5.

“The one thing that I really enjoy about this team is that they pick each other up and they understand their roles,” Bearkat head coach David Pierce said.

The Islanders (18-26, 10-14 SLC) tacked on 3 runs in the top of the third inning to take a 3-0 lead.

Santiago Ruiz scored their first run on a fielder’s choice play that made it 1-0.

Brad Porras followed with a two-run blast to left field that increased the lead to 3-0. It was only his second home run of the season.

It seemed as nothing was going the Bearkats way as starting pitcher Daniel Minor kept them at bay for the first three innings as he struck out five batters.

“I could see why he (Minor) is good,” Pierce said. “He is a four pitch guy that could really command it.

“He got great down hill angle on his fastball……he manages the running game.”

The Bearkats finally got to him in the bottom of the fourth inning and exploded for five runs to take a 5-3 lead.

Kevin Miller lined a two-run single up the middle to cut the lead to 3-2.

Two batters later, Ryan O’Hearn lined an RBI single to right field that tied the score at 3.

With the bases loaded, Ryan Farney lined a two run single to right field to give the Bearkats a 5-3 lead.

“I was really excited to have that opportunity to have the bases loaded…” Farney said. “I was ready to go and I got a pitch I liked and drove it.”

After avoiding near disaster that would have broke the game open for the Islanders in the top of the sixth and seventh innings, the Bearkats added an insurance run in the bottom of the eight inning to increase the lead to 6-3 and reliever Michael Burchett came into the ninth inning and get the final three outs to save it for the Bearkats.

Reliever Brandon Bergen pitched two innings and got his second win of the season while Minor suffered the loss for the Islanders.

The Bearkats will face Texas A&M Aggies on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. at Don Sanders Stadium on the campus of SHSU.

About Cheval John

Cheval John is the Founder and CEO of Vallano Media, LLC, a marketing agency which helps small to mid-sized businesses use social media correctly to build a loyal following and in the process become more profitable. Cheval is also the host of "What's The Word?" a podcast about finding out what inspires people to choose their respective careers and how social media impacted their lives and business. He is the author of two books including the Amazon Best-Seller, "8 Lessons Every Podcaster Needs To Learn." He has spoken at Social Media Week Lima in Ohio and at Social Media Day Houston 2017 about topics around live streaming and podcasting. Cheval has been featured in media outlets including Ebony Magazine, Social Media Today and Forbes. He was named a Houston Top 25 Social Media Power Influencer (2016 and 2017) and a Twitter Top 50 Influencer by Onalytica in 2018.

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