Southland Conference Tournament Update
From The Huntsville Item
By Cody Stark
Assistant Sports Editor
The Bearkats found the right combination to successfully begin the defense of their Southland Conference Tournament title Wednesday night at Don Sanders Stadium.
Apparently, all it takes is a gutsy performance on the mound from a freshman and a big day at the plate from a senior leader.
Starting pitcher Dallas Gallant settled in after a rough start to pitch a complete-game gem, and second-team All-SLC right fielder Todd Sebek ripped a pair of RBI doubles to lead fourth-seeded Sam Houston State to a 7-1 victory over Northwestern State in the opening round of the league's postseason tournament.
It was exactly the kind of start the Bearkats (34-23) were looking for, a year after winning the tournament as a fourth seed in Natchitoches, La. Sam Houston will battle No. 8 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which upset No. 1 Texas-San Antonio 7-5 earlier Wednesday, today at 7 p.m.
“It's hard just to get into the tournament, and once you get in, you want to hang around a couple of games to get a good feel for it,” Bearkats skipper Mark Johnson said. “This was a big win for us, and I thought the story of the game was Dallas. What he was able to battle back from is tough for a senior, let alone a freshman.”
Gallant got off to a rocky start, struggling with his location by plunking a pair of Demon hitters and allowing a walk in the first inning. But he got a nifty 4-6-3 double play and struck out Anthony Jones to get out of the jam without any damage done.
After throwing more than 50 pitches in the first three frames, the freshman from Trinity got in a groove and started mowing through the Northwestern State lineup. Gallant only gave up one run on six hits with four strikeouts to improve to 8-3 on the season.
“I just settled down because I knew I had to relax,” the honorable mention All-SLC selection said. “I was terrible in the first two innings, and I was fortunate to get out of those innings without giving up a run. Once I started locating my pitches, I felt really good out there.”
The Sam Houston offense also got off to a slow start, but it was only a matter of time before the hottest-hitting team in the Southland came around.
Sebek drove in the first run of the game with a hard-hit double into the right-center field gap to bring in Braeden Riley in the bottom of the third inning.
The Bearkats pushed the lead to 3-0 in the fourth. First baseman Nick Zaleski got the rally started with a two-out walk, then moved into scoring position on a single by catcher Heath Pugh that found its way into the hole between second and first. Riley and Ryan Weber hit back-to-back RBI singles to cap the frame.
That was more than enough for Gallant, but the Kats added another run on a double by Sebek in the sixth and three more in the eighth thanks to a two-run double by Seth Hammock and an error by the Demons left fielder Justin O'Neal.
“Dallas really kept us in the game, but we knew that sooner or later we were going to score some runs,” Sebek said. “We have been hitting the ball well all season, and once we got rolling, we gave him some support out there.”
Not only did Sebek do his part at the plate to help out Gallant, but flashed some serious leather in the field, coming up with a run-saving double play in the fifth inning.
With runners at the corners and one out, Northwestern State's leading hitter, Mike Jarworski, hit a soft floater to right field. Sebek came charging in hard, made a sliding catch, popped up quickly and gunned down Chase Lyle, who was trying to score on the tag up from third, at the plate.
Sebek's strong throw and Pugh's tag at the plate sucked the wind out of the Demons with the Kats holding on to a 3-1 advantage.
“The ball looked like it was hit a lot harder than it was,” Sebek said. “It was the kind of play that is every right fielder's dream because you know you are going to get a chance to throw someone out. I made a sliding catch and a great throw and we got out of the inning.”
The Bearkats, like they have all season, got some solid production out of the bottom of their order.
Riley, a freshman from Woodville, who was filling in for All-SLC second baseman Jaime Rohlmeier, went 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored while hitting in the eight hole.
Weber, the No. 9 hitter, was 2-for-3 and also scored and drove in a run.
“In the second half of the season, the bottom half of the order has been a key to our offense,” Johnson added. “Weber and Rohlmeier have been huge and Riley got his chance tonight. He is just a freshman and is going to be a good player for us.”
