The victory came on the second day of the Bearkat Baseball Invitational and kept SHSU as the only unbeaten team in the event. The Kats defeated Northern Colorado on Friday.

Sam Houston pounded out 14 hits and Nebraska's offense was held in check throughout. The Kats scored seven runs in the first three innings and that was more than enough as Sam Houston defeated the Cornhuskers 7-1.

"I was pleased," Bearkats head coach Mark Johnson said. "We've been forcing. We've had leads in all of our ball games. We came out ready to play. Brent (Powers) gave us a chance and kept them at bay. We were able to  score runs. We had a lot of balls fall in, but it evened out because we hit a lot of line drives that were caught.

"It started off with our pitching, and of course, we hit the ball well today."

Before the senior Powers stepped on the mound, his teammates had already given him a comfortable lead.

The Bearkats (4-2 overall) started with four straight singles and right fielder Greg Olson also bunted safely. Before recording its first out, Sam Houston had four runs on the board.

"Scoring four runs in the first, the top of the lineup kind of got it going. We put the ball on the ground and made things happen," said third baseman Ryan Mooney, who hit safely three times.

"I think we had the right approach up there. We've been working on staying on top and keeping the ball on the ground. Good things happen when you're doing that and you find some holes. We just kept battling and made some things happen."

The Kats didn't stop there and kept teeing off on Nebraska starter Sean Yost (1-1). In the third inning, catcher John Hale and left fielder Payton Wisener each doubled, collectively driving in three runs to add to Sam Houston's total.

"Obviously that's nice when your offense can come out and put runs on the board. It's always a good feeling," Powers said.

With a big, early lead, Powers (1-0) went to work against the Cornhuskers. The veteran left-hander didn't offer much and kept Nebraska (5-2) from getting many scoring opportunities.

In the third and fourth innings, Powers found himself in a bit of a jam. The first two Cornhusker batters got aboard in the third, due to fielding errors by shortstop Braeden Riley and center fielder Mark Hudson. Powers then coaxed Nebraska third baseman Cody Asche to ground into a double play.

After issuing a walk, Powers got out of the inning without any damage after catcher Cory Burleson grounded out.

In the fourth, Nebraska had two runners on with one out, but again Powers and the Bearkats kept either one from reaching home.  

"We costed him some pitches. We probably could've given him another inning had we made those plays," Johnson said. "Braeden's was a tough backhand play, but he makes that play and Mark, I don't know what happened. He doesn't miss too many balls. At any rate, it costed him some pitches, probably an inning of pitching. But he got out of it, so I was really pleased with him."

In the final four innings, the bullpen picked up where Powers left off as junior Michael Oros and freshman Caleb Smith held Nebraska hitless with three strikeouts apiece.

"You try to minimize whenever you can. When they get hits, you keep working and keep grinding," Powers added. "The guys that came out of the pen were lights out. If we keep pitching like that, we're going to win a lot of ball games."

The Bearkats play the Cornhuskers again today at 10 a.m., then face Northern Colorado at 1:30 p.m.

"This was a good win for us, but we've got to come back tomorrow for a doubleheader. Tomorrow will be a real test for us. It'll be good," Johnson added.