Tasked with controlling one of the nation's top offense, Sam Houston baseball starting pitcher Sam Odom did that and more, tossing nine innings, allowing just six hits and three runs but some late magic gave New Orleans a 10-inning 4-3 win in the Southland Conference season opener on Saturday.
While Odom was sharp to the tune of a season-high for innings pitched, UNO's Shawn Semple was equally as dominating, striking out a career-high 11 hitters while allowing two earned runs and eight hits in 8 2-3 innings of work.
“It was a hard fought game,” second-year head coach Matt Deggs said. “Sammy pitched his heart out and gave us a chance to win. I thought we played extremely well on defense. We just need to put the ball in play more consistently. Their guy pitched really well. It was a typical Friday night clash.”
With Sam Houston (5-10 overall, 0-1 SLC) trailing 3-1 heading into the ninth, freshman Jordan Cannon, making his first start in right field, reached on a four-pitch walk, effectively ending the night for Semple. With reliever Daniel Martinez in to pitch, catcher Robie Rojas got ahead in the count 2-1 and took a fastball over the left field fence for his first career home run, knotting the game at 3-3.
Looking for an advantage in the 10th inning, Lance Miles and Zach Smith each notched one-out singles, but a double play ended the threat. On the night, the Bearkats stranded seven runners including two a piece in the fourth and seventh frames – both times ending in a strikeout.
Senior Spence Rahm, who started the game at first and went 1 for 4, entered to pitch the 10th. Consecutive one-out walks put the Privateers (12-2, 1-0 SLC) in business but after a caught stealing at second, it appeared the Kats may escape the jam. Following an intentional walk to load the bases, No. 6 hitter Samuel Capielano took a 2-2 count through the right side for the go-ahead single.
“We'll come out and battle back,” Deggs said. “For a team that prepares well, plays hard and respects game like we do, it's a matter of being the same team and trusting in the process. It's only a matter of time before things completely come together.”
The Bearkats took the lead in the sixth inning on a two-out single from Matt Broadbent to bring around Bryce Johnson, who led off with a double. Johnson finished the night 2-for-5, marking his team-leading eighth multi-hit performance of the season while moving his reached base streak to 29 games.
For Broadbent, the RBI moves his total to a team-best 14. The junior transfer finished 1 for 5, while Miles, making his return to the starting lineup notched his second multi-hit game by finishing 2 for 4. Rojas and Zach Smith also added a pair of hits in the Kats first loss to UNO since the squad joined the league.
Sam Houston looks to bounce back in Sunday's doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. with right-handed junior Heath Donica (1-1, 4.58 ERA) getting the nod in Game 1 and right-handed freshman Riley Gossett (1-0, 2.45 ERA) earning the start in the finale.
“I thought we fought hard and competed really well,” Deggs said. “We come out tomorrow and have a chance to win a series. That's why you play 30 of these things. We're here to play 10 weekends of this.”
