THIBODAUX, La. – Sam Houston State starter Sam Odom was masterful in 7 1-3 innings, but on Thursday night in the first of a three-game set at Nicholls, the Bearkats bullpen stole the show.
Senior relievers helped close the door, highlighted by Greg Belton, who entered the ninth with the bases loaded and no outs, using 10 pitches to secure three straight outs and pick up the save after a leadoff single to give Sam Houston a 4-2 victory at Ray E. Didier Field.
“I just came in and did everything I could,” Belton said. “Coach (Jay) Sirianni has really been working with us. It has helped a lot. Getting the confidence back is huge. It's big to have someone close it down at the back of the bullpen. Sam (Odom) has had some bad luck throwing gems, so it's nice to see we were there for him.”
Meanwhile, Hayden Nixon produced his second straight scoreless outing, doing so in 2-3 innings of work, entering the eighth with runners on first and second but stranding them there. In the ninth, Sunday starter Riley Gossett entered to pitch, but left after the Colonels loaded the bases.
“I'm so proud of those two seniors,” second-year head coach Matt Deggs said of Belton and Nixon. “Both of them stepped up and bailed us out in a big spot tonight. That's a very scrappy, resilient ball club over there. I can't say enough about what Belton and Nixon did. They work so hard, they deserve that opportunity.”
Offensively, the Bearkats (10-12, 4-3 Southland) teed off for 10 hits against Justin Sinibaldi, the 2015 Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year, scoring three runs over the first three innings to give Odom and the Kats the lift they needed to secure a season-high fourth straight victory.
“I've been coming here for years,” Deggs said. “I promise you that is a really well coached team. They're going to play hard until the final out. I've lost more of those over here than I've won. This is a tremendously tough place to play. I thought we played really good defense, did a good job embracing the elements and just kept grinding.”
Sam Houston led off the scoring in the opening frame, helped by a pair of Nicholls (10-12, 2-5 SLC) errors. Leadoff hitter Bryce Johnson reached on the first misplay and moved up to second on the Riley McKnight sacrifice bunt. The center fielder plated on a Josh Biles ball hit sharply to the shortstop, who could not make a play.
Johnson again set the tone in the third, as he connected with a first-pitch for a single through the right side. McKnight, again tasked with laying down the sacrifice bunt, showed some speed, beating tag from Sinibaldi, to put runners on first and second.
Following the Lance Miles sacrifice bunt, Zach Smith drove a 0-2 pitch that fell in front of the center fielder to score Johnson. One batter later, Biles got the job done, putting a ball to deep shortstop to bring home McKnight and give the Bearkats a 3-0 advantage.
“We did a good job just running our offense, keeping the pressure on, forcing mistakes and getting big hits,” Deggs said. “That's two weekends in a row where we've come out against (Adam) Oller and Sinibaldi, pound for pound, two of the best arms in the league and we've methodically spun the game out of control. They did a good job keeping their team in the game but the damage was done.”
In the sixth, Smith recorded his seventh multi-hit game of the season with a leadoff double left center. After Biles executed the sacrifice bunt, Jaxxon Grisham recorded his first-career RBI, lifting a ball to center that dropped for a single and scored Smith to make it 4-0.
“It felt good to come through for the team,” Grisham said. “A lot of guys got it done and I'm glad we got it done. I saw a first pitch curve ball and coach Deggs talked about being aggressive. Any time you can give Sammy a lead, even one run, you feel good about your chances.”
The Colonels climbed back in the bottom half, backed by a pair of doubles. With second baseman Ethan Valdez on second, designated hitter Kyle Knauth belted a double to the warning track in center to cut the deficit to three. However, Odom clamped down, forcing a pair of groundouts to end further damage.
Odom (2-0) scattered five hits, allowing one earned run and two walks while striking out three. Sinibaldi (2-3) was saddled with the loss for the Colonels after allowing four runs, including three earned, on 10 hits. The right-hander did not allow a walk while striking out seven Sam Houston hitters.
The Bearkats and Colonels return on Friday at 6 p.m. for the middle game. Sam Houston's Heath Donica (2-2, 3.58 ERA) will be opposed by the Colonels' Daniel Goff (0-0, 2.45 ERA).
