May 17, 2014  

@SamHoustonState Secures Third Consecutive SLC Title

By Cheval John

Sam Houston State clinched their third consecutive Southland Conference regular season title after a 13-3 mercy-rule win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders in eight innings at Don Sanders Stadium in Huntsville, Texas.

The victory gave the Bearkats at least a share of the title and the No.1 seed in the SLC tournament which will be on May 21st-24th on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas.

Both teams battled for the first five and 2/3 innings.

A&M-Corpus Christi (19-10 conference play, 30-24 overall) struck the first blow in the top of the second inning when catcher Russell Vaughan hit a opposite field home run to left field for a 1-0 lead.

Sam Houston (21-8 conference play, 39-15 overall) responded swiftly as they scored 2 runs in the bottom of the second inning for a 2-1 lead.

First baseman Ryan O’Hearn, who went 3 for 3 with 3 RBIs, led off with a single, advanced to third on a single by third baseman Carter Burgess, and scored the tying run on a sacrifice fly by short stop Corey Toups.

A couple batters later, left fielder Luke Plucheck hit a RBI single up the middle that capped the inning.

The Islanders tied it up at 2 on a two out, RBI infield single by third baseman Brandon Tierney.

Sam Houston regain the lead at 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning before the Islanders knotted it up at 3 in the top of the sixth inning on a two out, RBI infield single by pinch hitter Dominic Lopez.

That set things up for the Bearkats to break the game wide open with a nine run explosion in the bottom of the 6th inning to make it 12-3.

Toups started the party with a one out, RBI single that made it 4-3.

A couple batters later, second baseman Shea Pierce drove in the fifth run on a sacrifice fly.

With the base loaded and two outs, center fielder Colt Atwood hit a two run, single to increase the lead to 7-3.

Designated hitter Hayden Simerly issued the walk to load the bases again that allowed catcher Anthony Azar, who started the inning with a single, to hit a two run single to make it 9-3.

Then O’Hearn delivered the dagger with a three-run opposite field home run to capped the inning.

Burgess sealed the victory in the bottom of the eighth inning when he hit an RBI single to make it 13-3 and put the mercy-rule in effect.

Though Sam Houston has the series at hand, they have an opportunity to sweep the Islanders today at 1 p.m. and keep the title to themselves.

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 was 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 (Now X)Top 50 Influencer by Onalytica in 2018.

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