Bearkats Takes Second Game of Double-Header To Even Series
Ryan O’Hearn’s game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth gave the Sam Houston State Bearkats a 3-2 win over the Southeastern Louisiana Lions.
The win helped the Bearkats take the second game of the double-header and even the series.
They also have a chance to win the Southland Conference regular season title if they take the rubber match of the series tomorrow.
“Pretty much all day, I was getting jammed,” O’Hearn said. ” I backed off the plate a little bit…luckily things worked out.”
The Lions was looking to cash in their first run of the game in the top of the second inning when Jonathan Pace led off with a single to left field and advanced to second on a one-out single by Ladd Rhodes.
The next batter, Sam Roberson hit a rocket to right field that looked like it was going over the head of Greg Olson, but Olson tracked it down and made an outstanding catch to save a potential run from scoring.
Brett Hoffman followed with a walk to load the bases, but starting pitcher Justin Jackson got Alex Marse to hit into a fielder’s choice to end the threat.
The Bearkats capitalized in the bottom of the third inning on a single by Kevin Miller that scored Jesse Plumlee from second to lead it 1-0.
Plumlee led off the bottom of the third inning with a single up the middle and advanced to second on a two-out walk to Luke Plucheck.
They were looking to add more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning when Greg Olson lined a two-out single over the head of second baseman Brock Herbert.
Plumlee followed with a lined single past a diving short stop Ben Hernandez to put Olson in scoring position at second base.
However, Corey Toups struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Lions had their opportunity in the top of the fifth inning when Brett Hoffman led off with a singled up the middle.
He advanced to second on a sacrifice by Alex Marse.
On the next play, Toups robbed Harry Slade of a single to get the second out and kept the tying run from scoring.
Hernandez flied out to end the threat.
The Lions had another chance to tie it up in the top of the seventh inning when Marse hit a hot shot single that went off the glove of first base man Ryan O’Hearn with two outs and advanced in scoring position at second on a single by Slade.
However, Jackson got Hernandez to ground out to avoid any damage.
“Justin acted like a senior today and really picked up his team and gave us the start we needed,” coach Pierce said.
The Lions finally broke through and tied the game at 1 on a sacrifice fly by Cody Gougler.
Herbert led off the top of the eight inning with an infield single and stole second.
The Bearkats answered quickly in the bottom of the eight when O’Hearn drove the first pitch that he saw over the right field fence to regain the lead at 2-1.
They were looking to add more in the inning when Ryan Farney hit a double to left field and advanced to third on a sacrifice by Plumlee.
But, Toups grounded out to end the inning.
That became significant as the Lions came back roaring and tied the game at 2 in the top of the ninth inning on a RBI double by Slade.
O’Hearn delivered again in the bottom of the ninth inning when he hit one over the head of left fielder Ladd Rhodes that allowed Plucheck to score the game-winning run from second base that gave the Bearkats a 3-2 win.
“In the last two at-bats, he picked us up with a home run and then with the walk-off single,” coach Pierce said. “It kind of save the day today and I thought he was great.”
Reliever Michael Burchett pitched two innings and got the win while reliever Jason Greenleaf suffered the loss for the Lions.
The rubber match will conclude tomorrow at 1 p.m.
Lions takes first game of double-header
The Southeastern Lousiana Lions defeated the Sam Houston State Bearkats in the first game of the double-header by the score of 4-2.
The win pulls them within two games of the Bearkats (32-16, 20-8 SLC), who are in first place of the Southland Conference.
The Bearkats waste no time getting on the board with two runs in the bottom of the first inning that made it 2-0.
First baseman Ryan O’Hearn hit an RBI single to right field that scored center fielder Colt Atwood from third that made it 1-0.
Two batters later, right fielder Greg Olson hit a sacrifice fly that scored third baseman Kevin Miller from third to increase the lead to 2-0.
The Bearkats was looking to add more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning when Corey Toups led off with a double that hit off the right field wall. Atwood followed with a walk.
Both runners advanced to second and third, respectively on a sacrifice bunt by Luke Plucheck.
However, Toups was thrown out at home on a fielder’s choice play that allowed Miller to reach first and O’Hearn flied out to end the inning.
The Lions (34-16, 18-10 SLC) capitalized and exploded for three runs in the top of the sixth inning to take the lead by the score of 3-2.
They scored their first run on a RBI ground out by Jonathan Pace to cut the lead to 2-1.
Cody Gougler followed with a two-run single up the middle that gave them a 3-2 lead.
Alex Marse and Harry Slade started the rally with back-to-back singles.
Both runners advanced to second and third, respectively on a sacrifice bunt by Ben Hernandez.
Brock Herbert was hit by a pitch to load the bases and set up the offensive rally.
They added another run in the top of the ninth inning on a to increase their lead to 4-2.
The Bearkats had a chance going in the bottom of the ninth inning when Shea Pierce led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a single to left field. Plumlee followed with a single to right field to put runners on first and second.
Toups was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
However, they could not capitalized as both Atwood and pinch hitter Anthony Azar struck out and Miller flied out to end the game.
Andro Cutura went 5 2/3 innings and got the win while Caleb Smith suffered the loss.
Stefan Lopez got his 19th save of the year, breaking the Southland Conference all-time record for saves in a year.
The second game of the double header is set to begin in 45 minutes here at Don Sanders Stadium in Huntsville, Texas.
Bobcats Defeats Bearkats 5-1
Sam Houston State Bearkat softball team’s quest for a share of the Southland Conference regular season title came to an end as Texas State Bobcats won the first game of the series by the score of 5-1.
The win gave the Bobcats (34-15, 17-2 SLC) sole possession of the crown and the #1 seed in the Southland Conference Post-season tournament that will be held in San Antonio from May 10-12.
What is more impressive is the Bearkats (26-18, 14-5 SLC) were picked to finished eighth in the SLC before the season began.
Now they will finish the season in second place in the conference despite the loss and will be the No. 2 seed when tournament action begins.
It seemed as if it was going to be a pitching duel between Tomi Garrison and Chandler Hall as both started out strong in the first inning.
Garrison retired the side in the top of the first innings with two strike outs.
Hall followed suit and up her with three consecutive strike outs in the bottom of the first inning.
However, the second inning proved to be different as Texas State exploded for four runs that made it 4-0.
Anna Hernandez started the inning with a single and advanced to third on a error by third baseman Shelbi Tucker that allowed Chandler Hall to reach first.
Courtney Harris followed with a two-run double to left field that made it 2-0.
Shelby Carnline hit an RBI double to center field that scored Hall from second base to made it 3-0.
Their fourth run came on a sacrifice fly by Jordan Masek.
The Bobcats added a run in the top of the fifth inning when pinch runner Brittney Garcia scored from third on a double steal that made it 5-0.
The Bearkats scored their only run in the bottom of the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly by Adams to cut the lead to 5-1.
Kim Damian led off the inning with a walk and advanced to third on a double by Sarah Allison.
She scored on Adams sacrifice fly.
The Bearkats couldn’t muster anything after the fourth inning as Hall worked through the final three innings to get her 20th win of the season. She finished the game with 12 strike outs.
Garrison was tacked with the loss.
The rubber match of the series will be at 1 p.m tomorrow to end the 2012 regular season.
The Balancing Act of Being A Reporter And A Public Relations Practioner
by Cheval John
A reporter’s job is to be as objective as possible and to get as much information as possible to release to the general public.
On the other hand, a public relations practioners job is to promote an entity and showcase what they’re brought to a community.
Trying to balance both professions at the same time is a huge challenge, but one worth attempting.
As a freelance reporter for The Huntsville Item and Vallano Media, LLC, I’ve had the opportunity to cover Sam Houston State Bearkat sporting events and interviewed important people ranging from the mayor of Frisco, Texas to Nashville Songwriter Hall of Famer, Allen Shamblin.
Also, as a member of Priority One Public Relations, a student-run public relations firm on the campus of Sam Houston State University, we have created communications plan for clients on the campus and produced events featuring media personalities from Dan Rather to Hall-of-Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.
In conclusion, it is not easy at times, but in the end, it is worth it.
Tomi Garrison: A Proven Winner
by Cheval John
Every student athlete dreams of finishing their collegiate career on a high note.
For senior pitcher Tomi Garrison, she will get that opportunity to close out her career as Sam Houston State Bearkat softball team competes in the Southland Conference Post-Season Tournament that will be held in San Antonio from May 10-12.
The Bearkats, who started the season at 1-13, won their last 25 of 31 games to finish the season at 26-19 and secured the No. 2 seed for the tournament.
Garrison played a major role in the turnaround as she collected 9 wins, pitched a total of 73.2 innings and struck out 50 total batters in her last 11 starts and got three saves in relief to finish the regular season at 10-8.
“We started out the season saying, ‘we’re going to the tournament,’ and now we are” Garrison said.
“We knew we had a good team…when we went through that slump, it brought our team together. In the middle of the season, you started seeing more chemistry between us.”
It comes as no surprise to Garrison as she has been on every winning team since she began playing the sport competitively at nine years old.
The psychology major was the starting pitcher at Garland High School, the team made it to four state championships, winning two in the process.
As a starter, she compiled a record of 97-13 and racked up awards including the All-State Tournament and State Tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2007 and“District 10A-5 MVP,” and the Gales Fields Awards in her senior year.
She also pitched for the Texas Glory Softball Club, that won the AFA National Championship.
Garrison knew that she wanted to attend Sam Houston State University because during her time at Garland, one of her assistant coach Jennifer Robertson, was a former player and assistant coach for head coach Bob Brock at SHSU.
“I got a call from her (Robertson)…’you need to come out and watch our freshman pitcher (Garrison), she’s really good,” coach Brock said. “I got a young lady who ended up pitching all four years in the final state championship game.”
“I really wanted to go to Sam because coach Brock would come to a lot of my games,” Garrison said.
She compiled a 3-3 record, with 26 strike outs and a 3.22 earned run average (e.r.a.) and made the SLC Tournament in her first year at Sam.
She improved in her sophomore year, with a 5-4 record and striking out 37 batters.
Her junior year was a break-out year as she struck out 116 batters and dropped her e.r.a to 2.62 and was an honarable-mention on the All-Southland Conference team.
“She is consistent and she get strike outs when you need them,” coach Brock said.
Now with the regular season over, Garrison is more focused on winning the tournament and knows what it takes to win.
She has established her legacy on the softball program and coach Brock is a better person because of the opportunity he had to coach Garrison.
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