By Gene Schallenberg Huntsville Item

HUNTSVILLE - Feeling the pressure of trying to gain ground in the Southland Conference standings, Sam Houston State came up empty on Saturday.

The Bearkats stranded a total of 14 runners as they were blanked by Texas-Arlington 10-0 and 5-0 in their doubleheader at the Bearkat Softball Complex.

"Getting timely hits is the most important," SHSU senior Morgan Mikulin said. "We can get runners on, but we just need to get things done when we need to get things done and score those runs. It's a lot more fun and a lot more comfortable playing defense when you do have runs to back you up.

"We have pressure and we all understand where we stand in the conference," added Mikulin. "We do understand and we work hard at practice. We just have to be able to score some runs and win some games."

After the Mavericks (15-7 in SLC, 25-17 overall) battered SHSU pitchers Tori Benavidez and Tomi Garrison for 10 runs and 12 hits in 6 2/3 innings in Saturday's first game, Mikulin held her own in the nightcap. The senior pitcher spread four hits through eight scoreless innings, but couldn't get any offensive support.

The Bearkats, though, weren't without their chances. Sam Houston left five runners on base, including three in scoring position.

Perhaps the most heartbreaking of all the missed opportunities came in the fifth inning.

In a scoreless game, Sam Houston State senior first baseman Amy Brown led off the inning with a blooper that fell into shallow right field, which resulted in a double. After Brown was sacrificed over by Shelbi Tucker, the Bearkats (7-13, 15-25) had a golden scoring opportunity with a runner on third and just one out.

It didn't pan out, however, as Ashley Isbell struck out and Mandy Gegen lined out to pitcher Cara Hulme to end the inning.

"It's frustrating for everybody," Mikulin said. "I speak for everybody when I say we don't always do our job. We've got to be able to move runners. We work on that every day at practice, scoring a runner from third. Every day we work on that. We just have to be able to do that."

The Bearkats could only squander opportunities for so long before it would come back to haunt them. In the ninth inning, Sam Houston finally hit a wall. With one out, Hulme blasted a towering homer over the left-center field fence, which ignited Texas-Arlington's offense. The Mavericks strung together five hits in a row and scored four more runs before recording another out.

The five-run was deficit was too much to overcome as the Bearkats were retired in order in the bottom of the ninth to end the game.

In the first game, the Mavericks wasted little time. With two outs in the first inning, UTA catcher Samantha Chumchal launched a two-run home run that sailed over the left-field fence. Chumchal then smacked an RBI double two innings later and was driven in on a homer by Teri Lyles that just cleared the left-field fence.

The Mavericks tacked on another run in the fifth and added four more in the seventh.

Sam Houston left a total of nine runners aboard the bases in the opener.

"Today we just didn't get the key hits," SHSU head coach Bob Brock said.  "It's real frustrating, but it's even more frustrating for the team. I still don't feel like we're out of getting into the (SLC) tournament. We just have to come out tomorrow and start over with a winning victory and try to get some in a row."

The final game of the three-game series will be held today at 1 p.m.

Tickets for Sam Houston State softball home games are on sale online at www.gobearkats.com. All Sam Houston students, faculty and staff receive free admission with their SHSU BearkatOne I.D. cards. For $2, students and faculty/staff can upgrade their seats with reserved chairback seat. Offer is available at the ticket booth the day of the game.

For more information on exciting offers like the "Friday Family Pack Tickets" or "Super Tuesday" Mini-Pack Tickets, go to the links below or contact the Sam Houston State ticket office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium. The ticket office telephone number is (936) 294-1729.

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