Long Ball, Strong Pitching Led To Bearkat Sweep Over Lions
By Cheval John
With the series in hand, Sam Houston State wanted to sweep Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday at Don Sanders Stadium in Huntsville, Texas.
The Bearkats did just that with a 4-1 win over the Lions.
Sam Houston is now tied for third place in the Southland Conference (SLC) with a 13-8 record (30-14 overall) with 11 games left in the regular season.
Bearkat starter Sam Odom went 8 innings, giving up only a run on four hits, striking out four batters, and didn’t issue a walk.
The Bearkats got all of their runs from two home runs in the game.
Designated hitter Hayden Simerly, who went 2 for 4, launched a two run shot in the bottom of the third while catcher Anthony Azar, went deep with a two run bomb of his own in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Southeastern Louisiana (12-9 SLC play, 27-17 overall) struck first in the top of the first inning for a 1-0 lead courtesy of a sacrifice fly by right fielder, Andrew Godbold.
Sam Houston responded in the bottom of the third inning with two runs to make it 2-1.
Bearkat right fielder Travis Lee reached first on a fielder’s choice that got left fielder Luke Plucheck , who led off the inning with a walk, out at second.
A batter later, with two outs, Simerly launched a two run shot over the right field wall.
That was all Odom needed as he retired 12 out of 13 batters in the next three innings.
The Bearkats rewarded Odom in the bottom of the seventh inning after Azar hit a two-run moonshot over the left field wall to extend the lead to 4-1.
Ryan Brinley pitched the 9th inning in relief, got the necessary outs to secure the sweep and get his fifth save of the season.
Sam Houston aims to keep the momentum going on Tuesday as they travel to Waco to face Baylor in a non-conference matchup before hosting their arch-rivals, Stephen F. Austin in a weekend series.
Champions Don’t Feel Sorry For Themselves
By Cheval John
David Pierce will remember the way how he secured his 100th win as a head coach on Tuesday night against the Baylor Bears at Don Sanders Stadium in Huntsville, Texas.
His Sam Houston State squad had committed three errors in the top of the fourth inning that resulted in three unearned runs that had them trailing 3-1.
The Bearkats could have felt sorry for themselves.
Instead, Sam Houston rallied together and scored a run in the bottom of the fourth inning to cut the lead to 3-2.
Then the breakthrough came in the bottom of the seventh inning when third baseman Carter Burgess hit a go-ahead two out, two run game-winning single to right field for a 4-3 lead.
“What we did was right after that (fourth) inning, we basically came together and said, ‘Look, it might be one of the worst innings that we had since the history of baseball, but at the same time, we got to overcome that and forget about it,’” Pierce said. “I think they did. That is the sign I’m looking for of a character team.”
How is this related to life?
Simple: Though you make mistakes and think that nothing will get better, you should always get back up and try again to fulfill your dreams.
Those who do that will always succeed.
The ones who don’t succeed are the ones who always find excuses and feel sorry for themselves.
The “never give up mentality” is why coach Pierce has directed the Bearkat squad to two consecutive at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament, back-to-back Southland Conference regular season titles, and securing his 100th win as a head coach.
Share this: