HUNTSVILLE – The Sam Houston State baseball team brought in its 200th home victory at Don Sanders Stadium in style Tuesday night, belting 10 hits and 12 runs in the opening frame while beating Prairie View A&M, 16-5, in non-conference action.
In the opening frame, the Bearkats (9-12, 3-3 Southland) sent 16 hitters to the plate, with 11 reaching base including Josh Biles who connected with the first home run of his career, a two-run shot to left field.
“I was just keeping my shoulder down like coach Deggs was talking about,” Biles said. “The first collegiate home run – I can check that off my goal list. I hope there are many more to come. It was big to come out and set the tone.”
Four hitters reached twice in the inning including Biles (hit by pitch, home run), Hunter Hearn (single, triple), Barrett Koerselman (single, walk) and Jordan Cannon (single, single). The 12 runs in an inning is tied for third in program history and marks the most since 2006.
“It's good to see those guys continue to learn to get after it at the dish,” second-year head coach Matt Deggs said. “Confidence is everything. I thought tonight was a good night for us to catch our breath a little bit, play a good solid game and get better.”
In the seventh, Hearn belted his second triple of the day, tying the school record and becoming just the sixth player in team lore to match the feat. It also marked the first time since a player had done so since Luke Pluchek in the league tournament on May 25, 2011.
“Honestly, that's the first time I've ever done that,” Hearn said. “I had one or two triples in high school but I think I had to puke when I got to third base. I knew I was going to hear it from some of the guys in the dugout because it didn't go over the fence. If you have confidence when you come to the plate, the ball will start falling.”
Against the Panthers (6-13), the Bearkats also set a season high with 18 hits, besting the squad's 17 hits – twice – at Wichita State. Hearn and Biles each led the charge with 3-for-5 performances. Hearn added five runs scored and a pair of RBIs, reaching base four times, while Biles notched five RBIs and two runs scored.
“They are really good players,” Deggs said of Biles and Hearn. “They are young and both of them have been in and out of the lineup at times. They make our job a little tougher moving forward. They both had really good nights tonight. They both got their swings off.”
Bryce Johnson reached base three times behind a 2-for-3 performance, driving in a pair of runs and scoring two more. Jordan Cannon, getting the start behind the plate and pitching in the eighth inning, finished 2-for-6 with two RBIs and a run while Spence Rahm and Andrew Fregia also collected a pair of hits.
Sam Houston sent 10 pitchers to the mound including eight who tossed an inning. Starter Greg Belton (1-1), who recorded his first victory of the season with a three-up, three-down opening frame. Freshman Colin Cameron struck out the side in the fourth to highlight a unit that fanned 13 total.
“We're trying to get everybody some work,” Deggs said. “We still have some guys that have not pitched a whole lot who will pitch a bunch for us like a Greg Belton and Cody Brown. We've got keep everybody sharp moving forward. We've gotten such great starts on the weekend, it's hard to get everybody work right now.”
Sam Houston returns to the Southland Conference action on Thursday, opening a three-game set at Nicholls. First pitch is schedule for 6 p.m. with Friday's start slated for 6 o'clock and the Saturday finale at 1 p.m. The Kats are looking for their second straight league series win after taking two-of-three against Northwestern State last weekend.
“We've been playing better baseball,” Deggs said. “Right now, we're starting to get our legs underneath us and we're seeing more confidence in everything we're doing. Things are starting to come together.”
