Shortstop Nick Hinojos went 4-for-4 at the plate with a two-run double in the seventh inning to lead Northwestern State to a 3-0 Southland Conference baseball victory over Sam Houston Saturday afternoon.
The victory evens the weekend series at one game apiece. Sam Houston won 3-2 Friday night.
Northwestern State (9-18, SLC 3-8) totaled nine hits. Pinch hitter Stephen Gandy brought in the Demons' first run with a single in a three-run seventh inning.
Sam Houston (18-11, SLC 5-6) totaled only four hits, one each by Greg Olson, Ryan Mooney, Mark Hudson and Daniel Nottebart.
From the opening inning, Sam Houston had trouble figuring out Northwestern State starting pitcher Jacob Williford and the Kats struggled to give themselves scoring opportunities.
Baserunning mistakes and the inability to string together hits cost Sam Houston as the Kats fell to the Demons 3-0 on Saturday afternoon.
"He was mixing up his pitches and was getting them over the plate for strikes," Bearkats first baseman Daniel Nottebart said of Williford. "We didn't correct our approaches at the plate and kept on swinging at his pitches and getting out in front instead of staying back and waiting for our pitches to come."
Right fielder Greg Olson led off the first with a single to right field, but the Bearkats did not get another baserunner aboard until the fifth when third baseman Kevin Miller and shortstop Braeden Riley both walked.
It wasn't until the sixth inning that Sam Houston got its second hit of the day when Ryan Mooney ripped a two-out double down the left-field line in the sixth.
"We just didn't make good adjustments and that's what it eventually comes down to. You've got to make adjustments to what the pitcher is throwing," Sam Houston head coach Mark Johnson said. "It was just a rough day for us."
After five scoreless innings, the Demons (3-8, 9-18) broke the deadlock after Stephen Gandy, who came in as a pinch hitter, drilled the ball through the left side of the infield with the bases loaded.
Two more runs were hung on the board when shortstop Nick Hinojos ripped a liner to left-center field. Left fielder Luke Plucheck attempted to run down the ball, but just missed snagging the out. Catcher Matt Farmer and designated hitter Ryan Keele scored on the play to extend Northwestern State's lead to 3-0.
Williford (1-2) got out of a two-out jam in the sixth with Bearkats on first and second. Then in the seventh, after getting both Miller and catcher Doug Oney to ground out to lead off the inning, Riley walked and Nottebart singled to the right-center field gap to give the Kats another prime scoring chance.
Demons reliever Dustin Northcott came in the game for Williford. After walking pinch hitter Jordan Bunch to load the bases, Northcott squashed the threat after getting Olson to hit a lazy fly ball to center field.
"(Williford's) been good all year," Northwestern State head coach J.D. Davis said. "After a rough start to the year, he made some adjustments. He was hitting the bottom of the strike zone and really competed. He got in that jam late and Northcott came in and got him out of it.
"I'm obviously pleased with the pitching. A four-hit shutout, you can't ask for more. The big thing is that we played clean, we played hard. The pitching gave us an opportunity to win the ball game."
The Bearkats could only muster a single in the eighth and were retired in order in the ninth to end the game.
Sam Houston and Northwestern State will meet in the third and final game of the series Sunday at 1 p.m.
