By Cody Stark Huntsville Item
Sam Houston and McNeese will meet in the third and final game of the Southland series Saturday afternoon 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.
Bearkat fans will have the opportunity to purchase reserved section chairback tickets for only $2 during the special online only "Opening Day Sale" Monday April 5 through April 7.
For more information on the "Opening Day Sale" or other exciting offers like the "Friday Family Pack Tickets" or "Super Tuesday" Mini-Pack Tickets, go to the "Opening Day Sale" link 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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HUNTSVILLE - The Bearkats broke out the bats Friday, but they couldn't string anything together.
The Sam Houston State softball team cranked out 22 hits in a pair of Southland Conference games against McNeese State. The majority of the hits just didn't come when runners were in scoring position.
The Cowgirls got solo home runs from Marissa Koetting and Liz Morvant to break a 5-all tie in the top of the ninth of game one and exploded for four runs in the fifth frame of the nightcap to come away with a pair of 7-5 victories over SHSU at the Bearkat Softball Complex.
"We have had some close losses this year," SHSU head coach Bob Brock said. "We have a good team. We just haven't been able to get those big hits when we have a chance to score. But the girls are trying hard. We came back in both games. It just wasn't enough."
The real heartbreaker for the Bearkats (4-10 in SLC, 12-21 overall) was the second loss of the day. Sam Houston cranked out 16 hits, but only managed five runs.
McNeese State (8-9, 20-20) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI double by Morvant off starter Tomi Garrison. Heather Mosser followed with an RBI single.
The Bearkats got two singles in both the first and second innings, but couldn't scratch across any runs. That was pretty much the story of the game.
"We got 16 hits and didn't do much with it," Brock said. "That pretty much earmarks the season. But we have a lot left and we are going to keep plugging away starting tomorrow."
Sam Houston finally broke through in the third. Shortstop Hailey Wiginton singled and designated player Morgan Mikulin ripped a towering two-run homer to left-center field to tie the game.
McNeese retook the lead with a run in the fourth. The Cowgirls opened up the game in fifth, scoring on a walk, a two-run single by Alex Corbello and a passed ball to go up 7-2.
Sam Houston answered with a two-run single by Mandy Gegen in the bottom half of the frame. Erin Burford hit a solo shot in the sixth, but the Bearkats couldn't take advantage of singles by Amy Brown, Garrison (4-4) and Wiginton the rest of the way.
"The most disappointing part is that we came out swinging the bats. They just weren't timely hits," Mikulin said. "We all did our job probably once during the game, but when we needed it we couldn't step up."
McNeese State looked like it was going to cruise in the first game Friday. The Cowgirls scored two runs in the top of the seventh thanks to an RBI double by Koetting and an error to take a 5-0 lead.
But the Bearkats had some fight in them.
Pinch hitters Tiffani Woodrum and Amanda Lindsey singled and doubled, respectively to start the bottom of the seventh. Brittany Gutierrez walked to load the bases.
Garrison hit a two-run double and Sam Houston scored three more runs thanks to a hit batter and two walks to force extra innings.
Neither team scored in the eighth and the Cowgirls got back-to-back home runs in the ninth to grab the win.
"We didn't give up, ever, even though we waited until the seventh inning, " said Mikulin, who tossed all nine innings to fall to 8-14 on the season. "We just need to come out in the mind-set that we are going to score every inning. That has to be our goal because there isn't as much pressure as when you have to play from behind."
