Sam Houston wins Southland Conference tournament
5/12/2007 1:00:00 AM | Softball
FROM THE HUNTSVILLE ITEM
By Cody Stark
SAM HOUSTON 1, TEXAS STATE-SAN MARCOS 0
TEXAS STATE-SAN MARCOS 8, SAM HOUSTON 0
SAM HOUSTON 1, TEXAS-ARLINGTON
When the Bearkats needed it the most, sophomore pitcher Brandi Crnkovic put the team on her shoulders and came through with the performance of her young career Saturday afternoon.
Needing two wins to secure Sam Houston State's first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament, Crnkovic tossed a pair of 1-0 gems to lead the Bearkats to the Southland Conference postseason championship.
Crnkovic, who was masterful in the circle throughout the tournament, held Texas-Arlington to only three hits and got all the help she needed when freshman Lauren Burns hit a walk-off solo home run in the eighth inning in game one to set up a championship showdown with Texas State.
After the Bobcats forced a final game with an 8-0 victory, Crnkovic (19-11) again responded in the finale, holding Texas State to only three hits in seven scoreless innings. Junior shortstop Tanya Hooser was the hero at the plate in the win over the Bobcats, coming up with an RBI single in the top of the second.
“We have practiced hard all week and have been building up to this moment all season,” said Crnkovic, who was named the tournament's most valuable player after going 3-0 with a save. “It feels really good to win. The UTA game and the last game were the hardest I think I ever played.”
The Bearkats (37-24) became the first host school to win the SLC tournament since Northwestern State in 2002, but it didn't come easy. Like its last postseason appearance in 2005, SHSU rolled through the first three rounds unbeaten, coming one win away from hoisting the trophy.
But two years ago, McNeese State spoiled the party by handing the favored Bearkats two-straight losses to steal the championship. And after Texas State (32-26) stole the momentum with the 8-0 victory Saturday, once again things didn't look promising.
The difference this time around was that this scrappy bunch of Kats came into the season as underdogs and had to fight for every win they got. That never-quit attitude carried over into the SLC tournament, and now SHSU finds itself smack in the middle of a dream season.
“To come out and win the first game with one hit, a home run by Lauren, made up for (being swept) by Texas-Arlington in the regular season,” Bearkat head coach Bob Brock said. “Then to get smashed by Texas State in the next game (and come back and win), just goes to show you what this team is made of. Not only did we come back, but we won the game one to nothing.
“But I'm really excited for the school, Huntsville and the girls especially.”
The Bearkats didn't have their best day at the plate, registering only five hits in the three games they played Saturday. But the hits they got came when it counted.
Burns, who was an all-tournament selection, accounted for the two hits in the first two contests including her lead-off shot over the fence in left in the eighth to end game one and knock the regular season champion Mavericks out of the tournament.
In the finale, junior designated player Mandy Collier provided a spark in the second with lead-off double off the left-field wall. Tiffani Woodrum came in to pinch run and moved over to third on a sacrifice bunt by Burns. Hooser, who was also named to the all-tournament team, followed with a single to left for what would prove to be the championship winner.
The Bearkats also got a game saving play in center field from senior Stephanie Mosley. With a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth, Texas State's Leah Boatright launched a deep fly ball to left-center that looked like it was going out, but Mosley leaped up and robbed the first baseman of a game-tying homer.
The ball popped out of Mosley's glove for a double, but Crnkovic struck out the next batter to end the inning.
“We never gave up. This was our goal and we were determined to finish it,” Burns said. “It feels great and I'm glad I had a hand in it. Things just went our way.”
The Bearkats will now wait and see who and where they will play in the NCAA regionals next weekend. The tournament selection show will be aired on ESPNews at 3 p.m. today.
Crnkovic (19-11) was named tournament Most Valuable Player, as she allowed only three hits, while striking out four. Blake (26-15) also allowed three hits and one run, striking out three.
The Bearkats will learn their post-season location at 3 p.m., Sunday, as the NCAA Regional teams will be announced on ESPNews.
2007 All-Tournament Team:
Karen Taylor, Texas State-San Marcos
Dee Jay Nelson, Texas-Arlington
Alex Newton, Texas State-San Marcos
Jessica Rogers, UTSA
Lauren Burns, Sam Houston State
Tanya Hooser, Sam Houston State
Jetta Weinheimer, Texas State-San Marcos
Kristin Moore, Texas-Arlington
Leah Boatright, Texas State-San Marcos
Ragan Blake, Texas State-San Marcos
Brandi Crnkovic, Sam Houston State (MVP)
SAM HOUSTON 3, TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO 2
It was a different day but the same old story for the Sam Houston State softball squad at the Southland Conference Tournament on Friday.
The Bearkats found yet another way to scratch out a victory by rallying from two runs down in the final two innings to knock off Texas-San Antonio 3-2 at Bearkat Softball Complex. Senior Stephanie Mosley came up with a clutch RBI single to tie the game in the seventh, and sophomore catcher Casie Everitt later scored on a wild pitch for the game winner.
SHSU (35-23) moves into today's final rounds as the only team unbeaten in the tournament and will have a chance to advance to the championship game if they can beat Texas-Arlington, who eliminated UTSA on Friday 6-2, at 11 a.m.
“I think we are really growing up. I said earlier in the week that we were just getting better and better,” SHSU head coach Bob Brock said. “We have a team that is able to score some runs, and I'm real excited for them. We have been relaxed out there and just keep coming through when we need it.”
The game started off as a pitching duel between SHSU's Morgan Mikulin and UTSA's Amanda Nikolenko, as neither team was able to get anything going offensively through the first four innings.
The Roadrunners finally got something going in the bottom of the fifth when Krista Sitka reached on a fielding error by shortstop Tanya Hooser. Kim Chavez came in to pinch run and moved to third on a double by Catherine Garza. Hooser was able to atone for her error by throwing Chavez out at home on a fielder's choice by Kelly Cato to keep UTSA off the board.
But just when it looked like the Kats were going to get out of the inning unharmed, Leanne Risberg ripped a two-out double into the left-center field gap to put the Roadrunners up 2-0.
With their backs against the wall, the Bearkats were able to come up with a run in the sixth to stay alive when freshman Holli Hatcher drew a bases loaded walk. Mikulin shut UTSA down in the bottom half of the frame to set the stage for the seventh-inning comeback.
“I just think we have totally played together as a team and have kept fighting all the way to the seventh inning,” Mikulin said. “We got down two to nothing on a big hit, but we never gave up. Our defense played well and we got the hits when we needed.”
After Amy Brown dropped in a one-out single and Everitt walked in the seventh, Mosley singled to left to tie the game. SHSU scored again on a single by Mandy Collier to take its first lead of the game, but the run was taken off the board because Collier wasn't officially reinserted into the lineup after being pinch run for in the sixth.
Luckily for the Kats the slipup didn't matter, as Everitt scored a batter later on a wild pitch.
“We knew that we were never out of it,” Mosley said. “All year we have been able to come back in the later innings and score. Once again it was different people getting on base. We have tons of people contributing and everybody does a great job.”
Sophomore ace Brandi Crnkovic closed the door in the bottom of the seventh by retiring the side in order thanks to a pair of strikeouts to earn the save. Mikulin held UTSA to five hits in six innings to pick up the win and improve to 17-11 on the season.
Brown led the Kats at the plate with three hits, and Mosley finished with two. Everitt, Lauren Burns and Sarah Parich also hit safely in the victory.
Since the Bearkats are a perfect 2-0 in the tournament, they can secure a spot in the championship game with a win over the Mavericks today. If SHSU wins, it will face Texas State, who eliminated Nicholls State on Friday night 4-2, at 1:30 p.m. with a trip to the NCAA tournament on the line but the Bobcats would have to win two-straight games to capture the title.
If the Bearkats lose to UTA, then they would still have to play Texas State at 1:30 with a shot at facing the Mavericks at 4 p.m. in the championship game.
SAM HOUSTON 3, McNEESE 0
Huntsville -- Brandi Crnkovic spread five hitters over seven innings while striking out eight batters as Sam Houston State shut out McNeese State 3-0 in the first round of the Southland Conference softball tournament Thursday afternoon at the Bearkat Softball Complex.
Sam Houston State (34-23) took advantage of two Cowgirl errors to score all three runs in the fourth inning. Holli Hatcher's pinch hit single scored the first run. Sarah Parich added an RBI single and Amy Brown an RBI double to complete the scoring.
McNeese State (30-31) was led at the plate by Liz Morvant and Shayla Cormier who each had two hits. Crnkovic upped her record in the pitching circle to 17-11. Jana Jones (12-9) was the loser for McNeese.
Sam Houston State will play the winner of the Texas State-San Marcos vs. Texas-San Antonio game at 11 a.m. on Friday morning in the tournament second round.
