WICHITA, Kan. – With focus centered around the Missouri Valley Basketball Tournament and NCAA Tournament projections over the weekend, the Sam Houston baseball team brought its own rendition of March Madness to Wichita State in the series finale on Sunday.
The Bearkats bats exploded for a six-run sixth inning and freshman starting pitcher Riley Gossett was dominant against one of the country's top offenses, as Sam Houston jumped out to a 10-0 lead and held on 13-8 against the Shockers, to take 2-of-3 at Eck Stadium.
“I was looking to get strike one,” Gossett said. “Donica did a great job yesterday getting them with the slider and he told me after I was going to have to rely on that. I had not thrown it since the fall. Against a good hitting team, you have to find ways to get them off balance.”
In the sixth, Sam Houston (5-8) led off the frame with a Matt Broadbent single, Zach Smith double and two-run triple over the head of the Wichita State (4-7) right fielder from Spence Rahm. Two batters later, making his second start, catcher Jordan Cannon sent an RBI-single through the right side to make it 4-0.
“I guess the sixth inning is our inning,” second-year head coach Matt Deggs said. “I thought the 12-pitch at bat that Spence had ignited our ball club for the result of the day. To have a 12-pitch at-bat and triple to right field helped us relax and get going.”
A Jake Vasquez single and stolen bases from both Cannon and Vasquez led to a Taylor Beene RBI groundout. Sam Houston used some help from the Shockers to extend the lead, as Bryce Johnson reached on a throwing error from the shortstop that scored Vasquez and after stealing second, came around to score on a ball thrown into the dugout from third base.
With a 7-0 Bearkats lead, the Shockers threated to get on the board in their half of the sixth. After a single and pair of walks loaded the bases with just one out, Gossett locked in, picking up consecutive strikeouts, moving his total to seven on the day.
“Getting the bases loaded was difficult for me,” Gossett said. “To get that last punch out was a big adrenalin rush. It was a good way to go out on top.”
The freshman earned his first career victory, tossing 6 2-3 innings, scattering six hits without allowing a run. The Cypress product walked four and fanned seven, throwing 122 pitches one weekend after positioning the Kats to sweep No. 25 Oklahoma with his strong start.
“Riley has got a chance to be special,” Deggs said. “He can really command the baseball. He probably threw 85 percent fastballs but they were all knee high in and out. For a freshman, he has a really high IQ for what he is doing out there. He pitched his ball club to the 6A state championship last year so he has a really good pedigree.”
The Bearkats, who had come back from a 9-1 deficit to claim to series opener, 15-11, did not leave anything to chance, tacking on three runs in the eighth. Johnson used a one-out single to center, scoring Cannon who led off with a walk. Then, with two outs, pinch hitting freshman Barrett Koerselman recorded his first career hit and RBI with a single to right, subsequently followed by Smith's second double of the afternoon, to score Johnson and make it 10-0.
“Confidence is huge,” Deggs said. “We prepare really well and work really hard but now it's time to up our game and play with some more attitude and toughness behind us. To stave them off at the end was big. To me there is no such thing as not winning big enough. Was it pretty? No, but we had a lot of big plays.”
After allowing a grand slam in the eighth, the Kats picked back up three insurance runs in the ninth. On a 1-2 count, Beene lined a ball down the right field sign on the hit and run, scoring McKnight and Cannon who led off with singles. Andrew Fregia notched his first hit, beating out an infield single to make it 13-4.
The Shockers attempted to make it interesting in the ninth, scoring four runs on as many hits while taking advantage of a Sam Houston error and three-RBI triple.
Sam Houston was led by Smith, who led off the scoring with a single through the right side in the opening frame, and finished 3-for-5 at the plate alongside two RBIs. Five Bearkats produced two-hit games including Johnson, Broadbent, Cannon, Vasquez and Beene.
Sam Houston managed just two hits and one run off starter Zach Lewis, who went four innings in his second start, and was saddled with the loss, but like Friday, was able to tee off on the bullpen. Despite not scoring in a 2-0 loss Saturday, the Kats 28 runs in the three-game set were the most since tallying 31 in the 2014 Southland Conference championship-clinching sweep against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The Bearkats continue their seven-game road trip on Tuesday with a visit to Texas. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on the Longhorn Network. Sam Houston begins Southland Conference play next weekend at New Orleans.
