Archive | April 2012

Bearkats Takes The First Game Of Crucial Series

A five-run explosion in the bottom of the second inning helped the Sam Houston State (SHSU) Bearkat baseball team take the first game of the series from Northwestern State Demons by the score of 5-4.

With the win, they have extended their first place lead in the Southland Conference with an 11-2 record (21-9 overall) while the Demons, who is second in the conference has an 9-3 record(12-15 overall).

The win also extended their win streak to 10 games.

“It’s a big to get the first win, especially when they are only one game behind,” reliever Brandon Bergen said. “If we had failed tonight, we would have been tied…..the win gave us a little breathing room.”

The Demons waste no time when centerfielder Drew Helenihi stole home to give them a 1-0 lead. Helenihi led off the game with a single and stole second base. With two outs, both Nick Hinojos and Will Watson were hit by pitches by starting pitcher Cody Dickson to load the bases.

They were looking to add more in the top of the second when designated hitter Matt Burns led off the inning with a walk. He advanced to second on an error by first baseman Ryan O’Hearn when he dropped the ball on a pick-off attempt by Dickson.

However, Dickson settled down and got the next three outs to end the Demon threat.

The Bearkats capitalized for five runs in the bottom of the second to take the lead by the score of 5-1.

O’Hearn scored from second base on a error by second baseman Ray Frias that allow right fielder Jake Arrington to reach first and third baseman Kevin Miller scored on a sacrifice fly by catcher John Hale. Arrington would later score the third run of the game on a RBI single by Colt Atwood that went up the middle of the field. Catcher Anthony Azar hit a two-out, two run single to left field that capped off the five run inning. O’Hearn led off the bottom of the second inning with a walk and advanced to second on a single by third baseman Kevin Miller.

Third baseman Ryan Westbrook hit a two out, RBI single in the top of the third inning to cut the Bearkat lead to 5-2.

They kept chipping away as they added two more runs in the top of the seventh inning on back-to-back RBI doubles by Hinojos and Watson to bring the Demons within a 5-4 score.

Things got interesting in the top of the ninth inning when Helenihi appeared to be out at first base, but was called safe at first base by umpire Ricky Rodriguez to set up the potential tying run for the Demons. But Helenihi was forced out at second on a fielder’s choice that allowed Buckley to reach first.

Buckley stole second base to put himself in scoring position to tie the game. Reliever Michael Burchett walked Purdy to put the potential go-ahead run at first.

Burchett got Hinojos to get the second out and Hale thrown out Buckley at third to end the game.

“The pitch was in the dirt and I blocked it and Buckley took off,” Hale said. “I picked it up and threw to third and he was out…the game was over.”

Bergen threw 4 and 2/3 innings in relieve and got his first win of the season while starting pitcher Colin Bear took the loss. Burchett got his third save of the season.

The second game of the series begins at 6:30 p.m at Don Sanders Stadium on the campus of SHSU.

The Real Winners Of The NCAA Basketball Tournament

In every competion, they always have to be a winner and a loser. That was no different in the NCAA National Championship game that transpired between the University of Kentucky Wildcats and the University of Kansas Jayhawks.

Though it was a good game, the Wildcats defeated the Jayhawks by the score of 67-59 to win the national title.

The championship was their eighth in school history and one would conclude that they are the real winners of the NCAA tournament.

The Jayhawks were the losers, they had a chance to represent their school and to play for the national championship.

However, the real winners of the NCAA Basketball Tournament are the student journalist who represented their college newspapers.

The reason is because they have covered each of these basketball teams for the whole season and with the Final Four taken place, each of these student journalist got the opportunity to sit side by side with sport journalists represent well-known national television and print media that includes ESPN, CBS, TNT, The Houston Chronicle, Yahoo Sports, USA Today and a whole lot more.

With them covering these teams for their school newspapers, they took advantage of the opportunity to network with those that have succeeded in their respective fields, putting themselves in position to get a job once they graduate from their respective universities because in the end, employers are looking for those who have experience along with the degree.

Wouldn’t you want to say that I have met Dick Vitale at the Final Four?

Here is the video tribute to the 2012 National Champions University of Kentucky:

The Reason Why I Did A Guest Blog Post

Stephanie Bennis, owner of Bennis Public Relations

I want to first of all say thank you to all of the visitors who visited my site. As you well know, this news site Vallano Media, LLC, started out as a blog called “What’s The Word?” over a year ago. Before, I had a vague concept about blogging, thinking it was just a place that people write rants in order to get things off their chest.

But since then, I realized the importance of blogging and the many ways it can be used to get stuff done.

What I also came to discover is by doing a “guest blog” for someone else can help you to get new audience that you would not get by yourself and it is also the best way to network with others that have been there before.

For example, I have done a guest blog post called “Your Brand Is Your Identity” for Stephanie Bennis, owner of Bennis Public Relations, as part of her “Bennis Blogger Battle” that will appear tomorrow at http://bennisinc.wordpress.com under the category “Guest Blogger”. The purpose is to get as many likes as possible from the readers and the one who have the most “likes” gets a $25.00 gift card from Starbucks and a promotion from Stephanie herself on her blog about our sites.

The reason why I decided to participate in the contest is because Stephanie is a talented and gifted person who knows what she wants out of life and it is my second time doing a guest post for her.

She was a member of the Coalitions Committee that got Tom Corbett elected as Governor of the State of Pennsylvania in 2010. After her stint, she worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Health from January to July of 2011.

She started Bennis Public Relations as a side business in 2009 and after leaving the Department of Health, decided to pursue it full time and in the process started a blog about her experience as a business owner and life lessons along the way.

She holds dual Bachelors Degree’s in Public Relations & Advertising and Communications from Pennsylvania State University (Penn State).

For more information about Stephanie, visit her at www.bennisinc.com.