HUNTSVILLE – After hitting its stride, scoring in three of the first four innings and holding UTSA hitless over the same span, the Sam Houston State baseball team fell out of sync, something second-year head coach Matt Deggs points to one variable.
“We've got to relax and play the game,” Deggs said. “If you want to sum up this interview real quick, we're trying way too hard. Baseball is not a sport where you can try way too hard.”
Sam Houston (0-4) committed four errors, while allowing a five-run fifth inning and three-run eighth adding to the bite of a cold and windy evening in an 8-5 home opening loss to UTSA (3-1) in front of 1,107 fans on Tuesday.
“I'm sick to my stomach not at the kids but for them,” Deggs said. “They play so hard and compete. Tonight was extreme conditions and I thought we played well for seven innings but they don't play seven innings at this level, they play nine.”
After struggling at moments to get the offense going in the three-game opener at No. 6 Louisiana, Sam Houston did not take long against the Roadrunners. Leadoff hitter Taylor Beene set the tone with a single to open the game and came around to score two batters later on a Bryce Johnson double, extending his hit streak to 18 games.
An inning later, Spence Rahm reached on a walk, moved to third on Matt Broadbent's first hit with the Kats, and scored on a double-play ball to make it 2-0. After chasing UTSA starter Aaron Burns, who allowed five hits and four runs through three innings, the Bearkats lead moved to 4-0 in the fourth, thanks to RBI singles from Rahm and Broadbent as part of a three-hit frame.
Making his first start, Sam Houston right-handed pitcher Greg Belton (0-1) was rolling through four innings, tallying six strikeouts and just one base runner, before the floodgates opened in the fifth. In the frame, UTSA rattled off four hits and took advantage of a Bearkat error to take a 5-4 lead.
“You have to work at any level to stay away from the three-run innings and in four games so far we've had two five run innings, a four-run inning and a three-run inning and it has been our demise,” Deggs said. “One mistake is quickly compounding to two and three more right behind it.”
The Bearkats were able to tie it at five in the sixth. Broadbent, who finished 3-for-4 at the plate, started with a one-out single and scored following a pair of Roadrunners' errors.
The big-inning again came to bite the Bearkats in the eighth. The three-run frame featured a pair of Sam Houston errors and a two-RBI triple from catcher Mason George who went 1-for-4, scoring a pair of runs while driving in three more.
UTSA's Andre Shewcraft earned the win after blanking the Bearkats over the final three innings. Shewcraft struck out five of the 10 hitters he faced and allowed two hits.
In total, five Sam Houston pitchers saw action including Hayden Nixon who endured the loss after allowing two earned runs and two hits in 1-3 innings of work. Riley Gossett closed out the game for the Kats, striking out four while permitting two hits during the final 1 2-3 innings.
Sam Houston returns Wednesday to host No. 23 Texas Tech at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are still available with chairback seating priced at $10 and general admission available for $8. To purchase, fans can call (936) 294-1729 or visit GoBearkats.com.
“These guys are going to be good, it's just a matter of when,” Deggs said. “They have the intangibles. They like to play, they like to compete. Eventually, we're going to play a nine-inning game and things will fall our way. It will come back around, it always does.”
