Arkansas State Steals First Game Of Series From Bearkats
By Cheval John
Pinch-hitter Ryan Robert’s go-ahead, game-winning two-run single in the top of the ninth inning gave Arkansas State Seawolves a 5-3 victory over Sam Houston State Bearkats in the first of the three-game series on Friday night.
Though both teams left 10 men on base, the Bearkat pitching staff walked 9 Arkansas State batters in that put them in a difficult position to win.
“When you walk nine guys, you always going to get beat,” coach David Pierce said. “The bullpen didn’t do a very good job tonight.”
Seawolves reliever Chandler Hawkins pitched two innings in relief and got the win.
But starter John Koch was in command of his pitches and went after the strike zone with his change up and fast ball that kept Arkansas State (7-2) in the game.
“He (Koch) just pounded the zone. … He’s very competitive, managed the game well.” Pierce said.
The Seawolves struck first in the top of the third inning after third baseman Claude Johnson issued a bases-loaded walk to score Stuart Levy from third to make it 1-0.
Carter Burgess’s two out, two-run double to left field in the bottom of the third inning gave the Bearkats a 2-1 lead.
Luke Plucheck drew a walked with two outs.
Atwood followed with a walk to put runners on first and second and both later scored on Burgess’ double.
Arkansas State had opportunities to tie the game in the top of the fifth, sixth and seventh innings and every time, the Bearkats found a way to get out of those jams.
The Bearkats (4-5) got that critical third run when Ryan Farney scored from second on an error by Johnson to increase their lead to 3-1.
It seemed as if SHSU was out of the woods, but the Seawolves found a way to get back in the game in the top of the eighth when pinch-hitter Ryan Roberts hit a two out, two-run single to right field to tie the game at 3.
Zach George led off the ninth inning with an infield single. The play was as close as it gets as he just barely beat the throw., but in the process went down with an injury.
Austin Baker pinch ran and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Dustin Jones. He advanced to third on a wild pitch by Jason Simms, who suffered the loss for the Kats.
Logan Uxa and Johnson was intentionally walked to load the bases with two outs.
Then Robertson hit the go-ahead, two run single to right field that brought in Baker and Uxa for the 5-3 lead.
Things got interested in the bottom of the ninth when Atwood issued a walk with one out after coming back from 0-2 on the count.
Though Burgess struck out for the second out, Ryan O’Hearn kept the inning alive by issuing a walk to bring the potential game-winning run in Spence Rahm.
Rahm hit a sharp grounder that would have went into the left field, but Johnson made a diving stop to his left and threw Rahm out by a margin to end the game.
“He (Rahm) had a good swing down the line, but Johnson made a good play,” Atwood said.
Bearkat starter Caleb Smith went 6 1/3 innings and got the no-decision with 9 strike outs and one earned run given up.
The Bearkats (4-5) have been close in every contest this season.
Even with a tough loss, they are aiming to regroup and get better for tomorrow’s game.
“We had a lot of close games,” center fielder Colt Atwood, who went 2 for 2 with three walks said, “We’ve been in every game that’s for sure. We haven’t been blown out but we got to get back to work.”
Bearkat MBB Rebounds With Big Win Over UCA
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
James Thomas scored 26 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead Sam Houston State to an 80-75 Southland Conference men’s basketball victory over Central Arkansas Saturday evening.
The Bearkats held a 13- point lead early in the second half, but saw it evaporate after a 19-5 UCA Bears run to put Central Arkansas up 50-49 with 9:52 to play.
Sam Houston bounced back, taking a 58-57 lead on a jumper by Thomas with 4:50 to play and not allowing a UCA field goal for the next three-and-a-half minutes.
“James Thomas is a hard worker with a big heart and a motor that never stops,” head coach Jason Hooten said. “He made some big plays for us tonight.”
Will Bond added 15 points including three treys while Michael Holyfield pulled down nine rebounds.
“Will is developing into a shot maker and Michael is beginning to come into his own as a post player,” Hooten said. “Those last two minutes when UCA made one last run at us were the longest two minutes I’ve seen in a long time. But this was a good win for us.”
Robert Crawford scored 21 points and LaQuentin Miles added 19.
UCA went 0-for-18 from three point range before hitting three in the final minute and a half to cut Sam Houston’s 11-point lead to game-ending five.
Sam Houston now stands 13-11 for the year and 6-6 in Southland play.
The Bears are 9-14 for the season and 4-9 in league action.
The first 15 minutes of the game featured six ties and four lead changes.
UCA led by one, 23-22 with 5:12 to go in the period when the Kats started a 13-4 run to go into the locker room at intermission with a 35-27 lead.
Sam Houston led by 13, 44-31 on a three-pointer by Marquel McKinney two minutes and 22 seconds into the second half.
But the Kats went cold, hitting only two of their next 12 shots as the UCA Bears took the lead 51-50 after a 19-5 run.
Never behind by more than a field goal in the second period, Sam Houston rallied to take a 58-57 lead on a Thomas lay-up with 4:50 to play.
The Kat defense held the Bears without a field goal for the next three-and-a-half minutes during a 17-3 run to put SHSU up 72-60 on a pair of free throws by Thomas with 1:51 to play.
Sam Houston made six of eight free throws in the final minute and a half to hold off a final charge by the Bears.
The Bearkats play host to Southland Conference leader Stephen F. Austin Wednesday night at 7:45 p.m. at
Bearkats’ Woes Continues After Loss To Central Arkansas
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
The Bearkats are currently on a three-game losing streak after the 71-51 loss to Central Arkansas earlier today in Conway, Arkansas.
The loss dropped the Bearkats to 13-12 for the year and 9-4 in Southland play.
Central Arkansas, one of the preseason league favorites but were in a tailspin the past two weeks, ended a five-game losing streak.
The Bears now stand 14-11 for the year and 7-7 in the Southland.
Courtney Duever led Central Arkansas with 23 points while Megan Herbert added 19.
Nyha Carter led Sam Houston with 14 points. Chanice Smith and Britni Martin added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Sam Houston held an early 9-6 lead after a Britni Martin three-pointer four minutes into the game.
With the contest tied 10-10 at 14:56, the Bears went on a 15-2 run to go up 25-12 on a Britney Gowan basket with 10:18 left in the half.
After a 9-2 run, the Bearkats cut the margin back to six at 27-21 on another Martin three-pointer at 5:12.
But Central Arkansas out-scored the Kats 10-2 to go into the locker room up 37-23 at intermission.
UCA out-shot the Bearkats 42.4 percent to 32.1 from the field as Sam Houston also went 1-of-9 from the free throw line in the first 20 minutes.
Martin opened the second half with her third three-point basket to cut the margin to 37-26, but that was as close as Sam Houston would come the rest of the day.
Central Arkansas went on a 21-9 run to lead at 58-35, with 9:07 to play.
The Bears led by as many as 25 points late in the final three minutes.
UCA out-scored SHSU 34-28 in the second period.
Sam Houston ended the game shooting 35.1 percent from the field (20-of-57) and 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) from the foul line.
The Bearkats return to Huntsville to take on Stephen F. Austin at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Bearkats Bounced Back With A Win In Extra Innings
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Hattiesburg, Miss – After a tough loss to Texas A&M on Wednesday, Sam Houston bounced back in a big way tonight against Jacksonville State.
A two-run single by shortstop Cecilla Castillo with no outs in the 11th inning brought in the winning runs as the Bearkats defeated Jacksonville State 5-3 in the first game of the Southern Mississippi Softball Classic Friday.
Shelby Lancaster earned the win in the pitching circle, spreading 13 hits over 11 innings.
She faced 43 batters as she became only the ninth Bearkat softball player to pitch 11 or more innings in one game.
Tori Benavidez singled in the first inning, reached third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly by Hillary Adams to give Sam Houston its initial run in the first inning.
Down 2-1 in the fourth inning, Castillo doubled then scored on a single by Alyssa Gregg to even the game. Sam Houston took a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth as Alyssa Coggins singled then scored on an error.
After Jacksonville tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth the two teams battled through four scoreless innings before the Kats scored the game winner.
The Southern Mississippi tournament continues through Sunday.
Bearkats Cruised To An 92-45 Win In Exhibition Game
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Led by Sequeena Thomas with 15 points and 10 rebounds, the Sam Houston women’s basketball team rolled to a 92-45 exhibition victory over Southwestern University of Georgetown Sunday afternoon.
Thomas was one of four Bearkats in double figures. Chanice Smith added 14 points, Jazmin Wiley 13 and Britni Martin 12.
The Kats never trailed in contest.
Ahead by one, 5-4 at the 18:23 mark, SHSU went on a 12-2 run to go up 17-6 and never led by less than double digits the rest of the way.
Sam Houston led 42-24 at intermission and out-scored the Pirates 50-21 in the second half.
The Bearkats shot an impressive 53.5 percent from the field, hitting 38-of-71 from the floor.
Led by Smith with four treys, the Kats were 7-of-20 from three point range.
Audrey Garcia led Southwestern with 17 points. The Kat defense limited the Pirates to 32.1 percent shooting (18-of-56).
Sam Houston also had the advantage on the boards with 41 rebounds to the visitor’s 36.
Martin assisted on seven Bearkat baskets, blocked two shots and had four steals.
Kaysean Clavelle also was credited with four steals as the defense created 32 Southwestern turnovers.
Sam Houston opens 2012-13 regular season action Friday with their opening round game in the preseason Women’s Basketball Invitational (WNIT) at Delaware.