The Sam Houston State Bearkats softball team continued from where they left off as they swept the Southeastern Lousiana Lions in a double header by the scores of 3-0 and 1-0.

The sweep gave them four straight shut victories, began on Wednesday after they swept Prarie View in the double header by scores of 3-0 and 9-0.

“I really like our intensity right now,” head softball coach Bob Brock said. “I think that we learned that going earlier in the year at 1-13.”

In the first game, the Bearkats (22-17, 10-4 SLC) shut out the Lions 3-0.

Catcher Ashlee Isbell’s two out, home run to right center in the bottom of the second inning gave the Bearkats a 1-0 lead. It was her fourth of the season.

Right fielder Erin Burford’s RBI double to left field increased the Bearkat lead to 2-0.

The Bearkats added another run in the bottom of the sixth inning to make it 3-0.

Second baseman Alyssa Coggins hit a single to left field that allowed left fielder Callie Wood to score from second base.

Wood had an infield single with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning and advanced to second on a single by Burford.

Tomi Garrison went the distance and got her eight win of the season. She struck out seven and gave up four hits.

Starting pitcher Shelby Lancaster threw a no-hitter in the second game of the double-header that gave the Bearkats a 1-0 win.

It was the first no-hitter by a Bearkat pitcher since 2010.

“I was really comfortable out there and I felt good,” Lancaster said. ‘I knew that I had to hit my spots…the defense was doing pretty well on the ground balls.”

The Lions (10-31, 2-12 SLC) was looking to add their first run in the top of the second when first baseman Ariell Van Hook reached second base with out after short stop Sarah Allison dropped the fly ball.

Van Hook advanced to third on a ground out by designated hitter Jessica Browne.

But Lancaster got left fielder Katie Matthews to ground out to end the threat.

Designated hitter Hillary Adams led off the bottom of the second with a single and advanced to second on a error by Van Hook.

The Bearkats could not capitalized as starting pitcher Vicki Honeycutt got the next three batters to end the inning.

The Bearkats had another opportunity in the bottom of the third when first baseman Alyssa Gregg reached first with one out after she was a hit by a pitch by Honeycutt.

However, Benavidez struck out and Gregg was caught stealing at second base to get the Lions out of the jam.

The Lions was looking to capitalize in the top of the sixth inning when third baseman Trish Bliss reached first with one out in the top of the sixth inning on an error by Coggins.

She advanced to second on a ground out by center fielder Michelle Duhe.

But second baseman Megan McCollum lined out to Gregg to end the threat.

“I felt like the way Shelby (Lancaster) was pitching today, we needed one run,” Brock said.

The Bearkats finally came through in the bottom of the sixth inning when Allison hit a sacrifice fly to right field that allowed pinch runner Amy Pelton to score from third base to give them a 1-0 lead.

Burford led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a walk. Pelton pinched ran for Burford and advanced to second on a walk to pinch hitter Jessica Slater. Both runners advanced to second and third, respectively on a single by pinch hitter Kim Damian to load the bases.

“I knew that I was underneath the ball all day,” Allison said. “I wasn’t too worried about it because all I had to do was get it high enough and deep enough….I was ready for it.”

Lancaster got the final three outs in the top of the seventh inning to get her ninth win of the season.

The Bearkats will face their toughest test of the season when they play host to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders in a double-header on Tuesday.

by Cheval John

The Sam Houston State Bearkats football team looked really great in the Spring game that occured last night at Elliot T. Bowers Stadium, with a total of 80 plays and the offense having six total touchdowns.

On the defensive side of the ball, they got two turnovers for the game. They did not keep score this year in the scrimmage, so they were no winners or losers in the game.

“All spring we had a hard time moving the ball on our defense and today, we did a very good job on offense,” junior running back Tim Flanders said.

After going 14-1 in the 2011 season that included an NCAA Division I FCS Championship Final Appearance in Frisco, Texas, the road will be a little tougher as the Bearkats will play the 2012 schedule with only three home games and two against FBS schools, Baylor Bears and the Texas A&M Aggies.

They only lost 12 senior letterman from the team and also their offensive co-ordinator Bob DeBeese, assistant coach and wide receiver coach Jeff Conway and offensive line coach Derek Warehime, but they are poised for a great season.

They feel confident because of the pedigree that are returning and with the additions of wide receivers coach Matt Barrett, offensive coordinator Doug Ruse and offensive line coach Bart Tatum.

The coaches have adjusted pretty well to the Bearkat system as they will be working with 50 returning letterman including 19 starters, with five being named All-Americans from last year’s team.

For example, junior quarterback Brian Bell, who passed for 2,059 yards last year, had a decent spring game.

He looked pretty solid as he completed 11 of 17 for 161 yards and a touchdown.

“It was an awesome way to finish spring ball,” Bell said. “Coming out here offensively, we finished real strong and that is definitely were we needed to be.”

“He throws the ball really well on the run and with only 15 practices in the new format, he had good command of the offense,” head coach Willie Fritz said.

Senior wide receiver Trey Diller was the recipient of most of Bell’s passes, with seven catches for a total of 118 yards including a diving touchdown grab.

“We come a long way since day 1 of spring practice…now we have six touchdowns against one of the best defenses in the country,” Diller said.

The Bearkat 2012 football season will begin on Saturday, September 8 against Sacred Heart.

In front of a crowd of 1,244, the #20 Sam Houston State Bearkats baseball team defeated the Houston Cougars by the score of 5-4, improving their overall record to 26-10.

The Bearkats got their revenge as they had lost to the Cougars earlier in the season in Houston.

“The pitching was huge tonight,” right fielder Jake Arrington said. “They just threw strikes and we made plays when we needed to.”

The Cougars was looking to strike first in the top of the first inning when center fielder Landon Appling led off the game with a single up the middle and advanced to second on a ground out by short stop Chase Jensen. With two outs, starting pitcher Michael Oros issued walks to first baseman Codey Morehouse and catcher John Cannon to load the bases. But he got Jacob Lueneburg to ground out to second baseman Jesse Plumlee to end the inning.

The Bearkats took advantage of their opportunity and exploded for three runs in the bottom of the second inning that made it 3-0 on a RBI ground out by first baseman Ryan O’Hearn and a pair of RBI singles by Plumlee and left fielder Luke Plucheck.

Arrington led off the inning with a single and advanced to third on a single by third baseman Kevin Miller.

The Cougars scored their first run in the top of the fifth inning to cut the lead to 3-1 on a two out, RBI single by Codey Morehouse that scored left fielder Michael Pyeatt from second. Morehouse was thrown out at second to end the inning after trying to extend the single to a double.

A two out, RBI double by Runte in the top of the sixth inning chipped the Bearkat lead to 3-2.

With Runte on second base, it seemed as if the Cougars were going to tie the game, but right fielder Jake Arrington made a diving catch to rob third baseman Taylor White of a potential game tying base hit to end the threat.

“It was a great play based on positioning and how far he had to go,” head coach David Pierce said. “He really equated two runs for us tonight.”

The Cougars had another opportunity to tie the game when Appling was hit by a pitch by reliever Taylor Holt to lead off the top of the seventh inning.

Brandon Bergen came in relief of Holt and got the next three outs to get out of the jam.

“After the lead off hitter got hit by a pitch, Bergen was our choice because he can handle the running game and the bunting game,” coach Pierce said. “He really picked us up.”

Arrington hit a line drive home run to right field in the bottom of the seventh inning to extend the Bearkat lead to 4-2.

The Cougars did not go away as they cut the lead to 4-3 on a RBI ground out by designated hitter Jonathan Davis.

Runte followed with a walk with the go-ahead run coming to the plate.

Michael Burchett came in relief of Bergen and got pinch hitter Casey Grayson to fly out to end the inning.

“I just came in and threw strikes and let the defense do their work,” Burchett said.

The Bearkats added an insurance run in the bottom of the eight inning to increase the lead to 5-3 .

A one out, RBI single by Morehouse in the top of the ninth inning cut the Bearkat lead to 5-4. That was all that the Cougars would muster as Burchett settled down and got the final two outs to end the game.

“Any run in a close game like this is big,” Arrington said. “It was good for us to get another win out here.”

Oros went four innings and got his fifth win of the season. The Bearkats used four pitchers in relief with Burchett getting his fifth save of the season.

The Bearkats will carry their momentum on the road as they face McNeese State for a three-game weekend series that begins on Friday.

Sam Houston State (SHSU) Bearkat baseball team completed the series sweep by defeated the Northwestern State Demons by the score of 5-3 to complete the series sweep and extend their winning streak to 12 games.

It was also their third straight weekend series sweep against Southland Conference (SLC) teams, making it the first time that they have done that since SHSU moved up to the NCAA Division I level in 1986.

“They really are a good team,” head coach David Pierce said. “Throughout the weekend, it was dogfight and our guys were fortunate to come out on top.”

The Demons (12-17 overall, 9-6 SLC) waste no time in the top of the first inning when left fielder Colin Bear hit a double to right center field that drove in Jordan Buckley to put them up 1-0.

Buckley singled with one out in the inning and advanced to second on a walk to catcher Nick Purdy.

The Bearkats (23-9 overall, 13-2 SLC) answered quickly with three runs in the bottom of the third inning to lead it by the score of 3-1 on a pair of RBI singles by left fielder Luke Plucheck, designated hitter Anthony Azar and right fielder Jake Arrington.

A two run, single by second baseman Jesse Plumlee increased the lead to 5-1.

Things got interesting in the top of the seventh inning when the Bearkats had appeared to have gotten out of the top of the seventh inning without giving up a run when starting pitcher Justin Jackson had touch first base before Drew Helenihi did to get the third out, but first base umpire Wes Bilon called him safe that allowed Matt Burns to score the Demons’ second run and prolonged the inning. The Demons took advantage and added an additional run on an RBI triple by Buckley to cut the lead to 5-3.

Burns hit a double down the left field line with one out in the top of the seventh inning. He advanced to third on a ground out by pinch hitter Nick Doughty that made it two outs.

The Demons had something going in the top of the eighth inning when first baseman Will Watson hit a single to left field with one out with the tying run coming to the plate.

He was thrown out at second by Hale on an attempted steal that made it two outs. Reliever Michael Oros got third baseman Nick Hinojos to fly out to end the inning and dashing the hopes of the Demons.

Jackson pitched seven innings and got his sixth win of the season. He struck out eight batters and gave up three runs on six hits.

Oros pitched the final two innings in relief to get his second save.

“He (Oros) pitched great,” Jackson said. “He threw for strikes and got some strike outs…..that is what he does and he’s a good pitcher.”

The Bearkats will try to extend their win streak next weekend when they face the Lamar Cardinals in Beaumont, Texas, beginning on Friday.