What a difference a game make.

After the Sam Houston Bearkats lost the first game of the double-header to Stephen F. Austin, the Bearkats returned the favor by defeating their arch-rivals by the score of 9-1. The win gave the Bearkats the series and improved their Southland Conference record to 2-1 (9-6 overall).

“There’s a huge difference at being 1-2 and 2-1,” head coach David Pierce said. “I know it’s only one game, but for us being a young team, it’s a big plus.”

The Bearkats struck first in the bottom of the second inning on a RBI single by shortstop Corey Toups that made it 1-0.
Third baseman Ryan Farney reached first on a fielders choice and advanced to third on a single by second baseman Jesse Plumlee.

An RBI double by designated hitter Jake Arrington increased the Bearkat lead to 2-0. First baseman Ryan O’Hearn led off the bottom of the third with a single and advanced to second on a ground out by catcher Anthony Azar.

The Lumberjacks scored the first run of the game in the top of the fourth inning on a bases loaded walk to left fielder Rene Moreda to cut the Bearkat lead to 2-1.
Right fielder Ricardo Sanchez led off the inning with an infield single and advanced to second on a throwing error by second baseman Jessie Plumlee. Designated hitter Freddy Villalobos walked to make it first and second. A sacrifice bunt by center fielder Rory Myers put both runners in scoring position to possible tie the score. Second baseman Bryce Cummings walked with two outs to load the bases that set up the Lumberjacks to score.

The Bearkats exploded for four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to increase their lead to 6-1 on a two run triple by Arrington, an RBI single by left fielder Luke Plucheck and a sacrifice fly by Plumlee.

They added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to make it 9-1 on a miscue by short stop Michael Ruiz that allowed right fielder Greg Olson to score from third and a two run double by Azar.

“I think it was really important in the second game to get the lead,” coach Pierce said.

Starting pitcher Caleb Smith went six innings and got his first win of the season. He struck out seven batters and gave up a run on four hits. Reliever Brandon Bergen pitched three innings in relieve of Smith and got his second save of the year.

Starting pitcher Chase Greening got the loss for the Lumberjacks, his third of the season.

The Lumberjacks are now 1-2 in conference play (6-10 overall).

The Bearkats next game will be on Tuesday, March 13 as they will travel to Houston to face the University of Houston Cougars. Game time is at 6:30 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks got their revenge as they defeated Sam Houston State Bearkats by the score of 5-2 in the first game of a double header. They are now 1-1 in the Southland Conference (6-9 overall).

The Lumberjacks capitalized in the top of the second inning to make it 3-0 on a three-run home run by designated hitter Freddy Villalobos.

Catcher Rory Myers led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on an error by firstbaseman Ryan O’Hearn that allowed catcher Jarid Scarafiotti to reach first.

Both runners advanced to second and third, respectively on a sacrifice bunt by shortstop Michael Ruiz.

A two out, two run double by Scarafiotti in the top of the third inning, increased the Lumberjack lead to 5-0. First baseman Bobby Loveless walked with two outs in the inning and advanced to second on a single by Rory Myers.

The Bearkats got on the board in the bottom of the third inning on a two-run double by Ryan O’Hearn that cut the Lumberjack lead to 5-2.

Catcher John Hale walked with one out in the bottom of the third inning and advanced to third on a double by centerfielder Colt Atwood.

Farney led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a single and advanced to second on a ground out by second baseman Jesse Plumlee. Shortstop Corey Toups walked to make it first and second. Starting pitcher Colton Eubanks got Hale to fly out and Atwood to ground out to end the Bearkat threat.

The Bearkats made it interesting in the bottom of the ninth inning when Hale led off with a walk and advanced to second on an infield single by pinch hitter Greg Olson. But Lumberjack reliever Alex Moshier settled down and got the final three outs to end the game.

Eubanks went five and two-third innings and got the win. He gave up two runs on ten hits and struck out two batters.

Starting pitcher Justin Jackson went five and one-third innings and suffered the loss. He gave up four runs on eight hits, struck out four and walked two. Moshier got his first save of the season.

With the loss, the Bearkats are now 1-1 in the Southland Conference (8-6 overall).

The second game of the double header will begin in 20 minutes.

Sam Houston State Bearkat baseball team axed Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks by the score of 5-2. The win gave the Bearkats a Southland Conference record of 1-0 (8-5 overall).

The Bearkats exploded for four runs in the bottom of the second to make it 4-0 on a two run home run by rightfielder Jake Arrington and a two-run single by leftfielder Luke Plucheck.

“The big second run inning was a big blow and Jake (Arrington) really got us going,” head coach David Pierce said.

The Lumberjacks scored their first run in the top of the third inning on a RBI single by Hunter Dozier that made the score 4-1.

The Bearkats add an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh inning to increase their lead to 5-1.

The Lumberjacks scored their second run in the top of the ninth inning to cut the lead to 5-2. But by then, it was a little too late as the Bearkats went on to win by that final score.

Starting pitcher Cody Dickson went eight and 2/3 innings and got the win. He struck out eight batters, and gave up two runs on four hits and walked five.

“I thought Cody was outstanding tonight,” coach Pierce said. “He pitched well with both pitches and an occasional change-up. That is why he was able to go deep in the game.”

Starting pitcher Justin Choate went six innings for the Jacks and suffered the loss. He gave up four runs on ten hits.

The second game of the series will be tomorrow at Don Sanders Stadium. Game time was originally set to begin at 4 p.m., but it will start at 2 p.m.

Anthony Azar’s game-winning single in the bottom of the eight innings helped the Bearkats defeated the University of California-Riverside Highlanders by the score of 4-3 and to take 2 out 3 in the series.

The win gave the Bearkats an overall record of 6-5 for the season.

“I wanted to get any pitch that was around the zone that I could get a good swing on and just put the ball in play and get the run in,” Azar said.

The Highlanders had an opportunity to score in the top of the second inning when Bart Stephonovich drew a base on ball with two outs. However, Stephonovich was thrown out at second by Bearkat catcher Azar to end the threat

The Bearkats capitalized on that mistake and struck first in the bottom of the second inning when Kevin Miller hit a single up the middle that allowed Azar to score from second that made the score 1-0. Azar led off the inning with a double.

Ryan O’Hearn’s RBI single in the bottom of the third increased the Bearkat lead to 2-0. Colt Atwood reached first on a fielder’s choice and stole second base.

The Highlanders scored their first run in the top of the fourth inning to cut the Bearkat lead to 2-1 on a RBI single by Jake Gallaway that allowed Vince Gonzalez to score. Gonzalez walked in the top of the inning with one out and advanced to second on a wild pitch by starting pitcher Caleb Smith. He reached third on a single by Cody Hough.

They scored two runs in the top of the fifth inning to take the lead by the score of 3-2 on a RBI ground out by Eddie Young and a RBI single by Cody Hough. tunity to tie it in the top of the fifth when Bolasky led off the inning with a walk and advanced to third on a double by Phil Holinsworth.

The Bearkats tied it at 3 on a RBI ground out by O’Hearn that scored Corey Toups. Toups led off the bottom of the fifth with a walk and advanced to second on a bunt single by Atwood. A bunt single by Luke Plucheck loaded the bases.

The Highlanders had an opportunity to take the lead in the top of the seventh inning when
Clayton Prestridge singled in the top of the seventh inning with one out and advanced to second on a wild pitch by reliever Michael Oros. Young walked to make it first and second. Gonzalez grounded into a double play to end the threat.

Plucheck led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a triple and scored the eventual game-winning run on Azar’s single with one out in the inning.

The highlight of the game came in the top of the ninth inning when Plucheck made a diving catch to rob pinch hitter Nick Vilter of a possible double and ended the hopes of the Highlanders from starting a rally in order to tie the game.

“I felt that I had a chance to get it, so I called for it,” Plucheck said. “When a pitcher is giving his all to win, the position players have to come through for him sometimes and I was just glad I was able to do that.”

He (Plucheck) got a lot of speed,” head coach David Pierce said. “He basically outranned the ball and timed his jump. He really save the day.”

Reliever Michael Oros went two innings and got the win. He struck out two batters and gave up a hit.

Highlander starting pitcher Trevor Frank pitched seven inning and suffered the loss. He gave up four runs on seven hits and struck out seven.

Smith went four and two-third innings for the Bearkats and got the no-decision. He struck out eight batters and gave up three runs on five hits.

The loss give the Highlanders an overall record of 4-6.

The Bearkats next game will be on Tuesday as they host Houston Baptist Huskies at Don Sanders Stadium. Game time is at 6:30 p.m.

Here is Plucheck’s catch that saved a double in the top of the ninth inning called by Derek Martin of the Bearkats Sports Network:

Sam Houston State Bearkat baseball team defeated the University of California-Riverside Highlanders by the score of 9-4. They are now 5-4 for the season.

“I thought we had some quality at-bats and because of that, we got some guys in scoring position and that counted in our favor,” head coach David Pierce said.

The Highlanders struck first in the top of the first inning on a solo home run by Phil Holinsworth to make it 1-0.

Kevin Miller’s RBI single tied the score at 1. Luke Plucheck reached first with one out in the bottom of the first on an error by thirdbaseman Cody Hough and advanced to second on a single by Anthony Azar.

The Highlanders answered in the top of the second when Eddie Young scored on a fielder’s choice that made it 2-1. Young led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a throwing error by Colt Atwood. He advanced to third on a bunt single by Cody Hough.

Jake Arrington scored on a sacrifice fly by Corey Toups that tied the game at 2. Arrington led off the bottom of the second inning with a double. He advanced to third on an error by starting pitcher Dylan Stuart when he tried to pick off Arrington at second base.

Miller’s RBI double in the bottom of the third gave the Bearkats a 3-2 lead.

The Bearkats scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth that made it 5-2 on a RBI single by Corey Toups’ and a sacrifice fly by Plucheck.

They added four runs in the bottom of the seventh to increase the lead to 9-2

The Highlanders scored two runs in the top of the eighth inning to cut the Bearkat lead to 9-4 on a RBI triple by Holinsworth and an RBI single by Clayton Prestridge.

Starting pitcher Cody Dickson went seven innings and got his first win for the season. He allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out one.

“Coach Pierce stressed that we had to come out with a lot of energy and I think we did that well tonight,” Miller said.

Stuart went 6 1/3 innings and suffered the loss.

Game two of this three game series will be tomorrow at Don Sanders Stadium. Game time is at 4 p.m.