Four Kats Named Southland All-Tournament
5/25/2015 8:49:00 AM | Baseball
Four Sam Houston players were selected to the 2015 Southland Conference All-Tournament team after leading the No. 5 seeded Bearkats to the championship game this past weekend.
Pitcher Andrew Godail, outfielder Bryce Johnson, designated hitter Jake MacWilliam and outfielder Hayden Simerly were voted to the 12-player honor squad by vote of the media covering the event held last Wednesday through Saturday at Constellation Field, home of the minor league Sugar Land Skeeters.
Simerly, Johnson and MacWilliam were the Bearkats top three hitters in the event. Simerly hit .444 during the tournament, going 8-for-18 with two RBIs. Johnson and MacWilliam each hit .333 and totaled 3 RBIs apiece.
Godail started for the Bearkats in two games, posting a 0.71 earned run average in 12 and two thirds innings with 16 strike outs.
Sam Houston opened the tournament with back-to-back victories Wednesday and Thursday, defeating No. 4 seed McNeese State 5-1 and No. 8 seed A&M-Corpus Christi 6-1. Friday night, the Islanders came back from the loser's bracket to edge the Kats 6-4 and force a Saturday “as necessary” game.
Sam Houston rallied for a 3-2 win over the Islanders to advance to meet Houston Baptist in the championship finals. After seven scoreless innings, HBU rallied for a 6-0 victory.
The appearance in the finals marked the sixth time in Sam Houston's 14 appearances in the Southland Conference post-season event that the Bearkats have reached the championship game.
SOUTHLAND ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP – Curtis Jones (P/3B), Houston Baptist
Andrew Alvarez (1B), Houston Baptist
Greg Espinosa (2B), Houston Baptist
Clay Thomas (OF), Houston Baptist
Andrew Godail (P), Sam Houston State
Bryce Johnson (OF), Sam Houston State
Jake MacWilliam (DH), Sam Houston State
Hayden Simerly (OF), Sam Houston State
Carson Crites (2B), Southeastern Louisiana
Brett Burner (2B), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Zacarias Hardy (DH), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Ty Tice (OF), Central Arkansas
