By Gene Schallenberg The Huntsville Item
For the second straight Saturday, the Bearkats used a monster inning to climb out of a huge hole only to see it slip away.
This time, it was Stephen F. Austin, which rallied for five runs in the final two innings and held off Sam Houston for a 14-13 win.
"We just have to come out and compete and we wouldn't have to fight back as much as we did," Bearkats center fielder Mark Hudson said. "We come out and get hit in the mouth and then get our heart going. We've got to get going right from the start."
Even after the Lumberjacks took a 14-10 lead into the bottom of the ninth, the Bearkats mustered whatever kind of rally they could.
Sam Houston (9-14 in Southland play, 17-27 overall) pulled to within a run after bringing three runners around to score. With the winning run at the plate with one out, left fielder Tyler Fiebrich grounded into a fielder's choice and freshman third baseman Kevin Miller struck out as the Bearkats came close to overcoming their second deficit of the game.
"I'm proud that we had enough in us to come back and get back in this ball game," SHSU head coach Mark Johnson said. "We got ourselves in position to win the game. The guys have a lot of fight in them. We just have to keep the confidence level up."
The Bearkats didn't make things easier on themselves as Miller and freshman catcher Tyler Jones, who made just his second appearance of the season, committed a handful of errors in the opening inning.
Jones' throwing error in the first, attempting to catch shortstop Tanner Hines stealing second, was costly. The inning continued and left fielder Ryan Priest blasted a three-run homer, nearly clearing the scoreboard in left-center field.
Stephen F. Austin, which improved to 15-7 in conference and 29-12 overall and took sole possession of second place in the Southland, got out to an 8-1 lead as starter Jared West held the Bearkats hitless through the first three innings.
Johnson gave his team a pep talk just before the Kats returned to the plate in the fourth and that seemed to do the trick.
"He just said to compete," Hudson said. "He just wants us to compete. If we compete, we're better than these guys."
Hudson led off the inning with a solo home run over the left-center field wall. That shot ignited the Bearkats offense. Sam Houston kept finding holes in the infield, stringing several base hits in a row.
Later, first baseman Taylor Davis singled to left as designated hitter Chris Andreas scored from second. Andreas' run capped the scoring for Sam Houston in an eight-run fourth to give the Bearkats their first lead of the game.
"A home run is a knockout punch," Johnson said. "It makes everybody feel good. You get a few more hits to fall in and all of a sudden, everybody gets in on it. It's contagious. Everybody believes they can do it. We did come alive."
Sam Houston added another run in the sixth as the Kats took a two run-lead heading into the seventh and that's when it all fell apart.
The Lumberjacks, who went three up, three down in the fifth and the sixth innings thanks to solid pitching from reliever Justin Jackson, pulled to within a run after designated hitter Darren Crabtree's RBI single in the seventh.
Brent Powers (1-4) replaced Jackson in the eighth, but struggled with his command.
Stephen F. Austin took a two-run advantage after scoring three runs in the eighth, then the Jacks scored a couple of more runs in the final inning, which proved to be just enough.
"We're having trouble out of the bullpen, obviously, but we're having trouble to start the game, too. It's not just the bullpen," Johnson said. "We don't have a closer right now. ... Hopefully, somebody will emerge. We'll keep giving the ball away and see if somebody will take it and show us he can do it."
The Bearkats, who are one and a half games out of eighth place in the Southland Conference, will attempt to prevent the Lumberjacks from pulling off a sweep.
The final game of the three-game series with Stephen F. Austin will be today at Don Sanders Stadium at 1 p.m. Sam Houston State will close out its current home series with a non-conference contest with Texas A&M Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets for Sam Houston State home baseball games are on sale now online at www.gobearkats.com.
For more information on exciting money-saving ticket offers go to the ticket link 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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