Softball plays at LSU Tiger Invitational
2/12/2009 1:00:00 AM | Softball
Sam Houston State will compete in the LSU Tiger Classic at Baton Rouge this weekend.
The Bearkats will meet Texas A&M at 3 p.m. on Friday and Ohio State at 9 a.m. and LSU at 4 p.m. on Saturday. Tournament championship semifinals and finals will be held on Sunday.
Sam Houston enters the tournament with a 4-1 season record. The Bearkats took No. 5 Texas A&M to 14 innings Wednesday night before falling 2-1.
Senior pitcher Brandi Crnkovic spread nine hits over 14 innings, striking out 7 Aggies. The 14 innings was a Sam Houston State school record for most innings pitched in one game.
Sam Houston took a 1-0 lead in the third inning as Hailey Wiginton tripled and scored on a single by Alex Survant. The Bearkats out-hit the nationally ranked Aggies 11 to 9, but left 18 runners on base.
The Bearkats started the 2009 season last weekend by outscoring Texas Southern and Houston Baptist 32-1, playing each opponent twice as Sam Houston won the Domino's Pizza/SHSU Invitational.
Sam Houston State put up strong numbers in the Bearkats' tournament. Shortstop Hailey Wiginton hit .556, going 5-for-9 with two doubles and a triple. Mandy Gegen, a transfer from Texas A&M, hit two home runs including a grand slam.
Bearkat pitchers Morgan Mikulin, Brandi Crnkovia and Tomi Garrison did not give up an earned run in 22 inings of action. The three combined to strike out 19 batters and gave up only 10 hits.
Sam Houston State has been predicted to finish fifth in the Southland Conference according to the 2009 head coaches' preseason poll. But an influx of talented freshmen combined with a strong group of juniors and seniors who all were key figures in the Bearkats' 2007 NCAA playoff team have SHSU fans believing the Kats will finish higher.
