HUNTSVILLE – With a steady wind blowing out to left-center field, the Sam Houston State baseball team took advantage. Unfortunately, so did Stephen F. Austin.
The Lumberjacks staved off a Sam Houston sweep, defeating the Bearkats 8-4 in the finale, snapping Sam Houston's 10-game Southland Conference win streak on Sunday, just the third time since 2000 the Bearkats have won as many league games consecutively.
Sam Houston center fielder Bryce Johnson and Andrew Fregia each connected with their second home run in as many days, both utilizing the strong gust but the Lumberjacks hit a pair themselves and were able to pull away, scoring a run in the eighth and three in the ninth.
“I thought they did a good job keeping us off balance today,” second-year head coach Matt Deggs said. “We hit a lot of balls in the air and there were a lot of easy outs for them. We weren't ever able to settle into our game and we've got to be able to do that. We wound up giving up three runs in the ninth and that was the ballgame.”
The Bearkats (18-14, 11-4 SLC) and Lumberjacks (16-18, 5-10) matched runs in the opening frame, with Johnson notching a lead-off double before eventually coming around to score on a Lance Miles groundout in the home half.
Fregia's fourth homer of the season came in the third, giving the Bearkats a 2-1 advantage before the Lumberjacks bounced back with a run of their own in the ensuing inning. The squads each exchanged blows in the middle frames with Sam Houston scoring two in the fifth and the Jacks matching the total to knot the game up at 4-4 in the sixth.
“It's a just a bump in the road,” Fregia said of the loss. “With the wind blowing out, anything can happen. We'll go up to Lubbock looking to start another streak.”
Sam Houston did its damage in the fifth with two outs as Johnson connected with his third career homer, all coming against Stephen F. Austin. The solo shot was followed by consecutive singles from Miles and Zach Smith. After pulling off a double steal, Miles plates on a wild pitch.
“The situation of the game at the time put me in a hot lead, meaning I am looking for any crack to take advantage of,” Miles said. “I'm not the fastest guy but when I saw the ball slip away, which is something we work on in practice, all you have to do is beat the catcher to the plate.”
The Kats were held scoreless over the final four frames, though, while an eighth-inning solo home run pushed SFA back out in front, 5-4. With the top of the Sam Houston order due up in the bottom of the ninth, the Lumberjacks gave themselves some breathing room in the final frame.
Stephen F. Austin sent eight hitters to the plate in the inning, tagging four Sam Houston pitchers for three hits and as many runs. The Lumberjacks' Garrett McMullen, who finished 4 for 4 with four RBIs and two runs scored, added a run-scoring double in the frame.
Sam Houston reliever Miles Manning (3-2) was saddled with the loss, despite combining with Hayden Nixon to work out of a first-and-third one-out jam in the seventh. Nixon used two pitches to induce a hard liner back to the mound, proceeding to field the ball and make the out at home. Manning coaxed a groundout to keep the game even.
“It was an incredible job,” Deggs said. “I liked where we were at all the way up to the ninth. Nixon came in and made an incredible play to get the runner at the dish and Miles came in and did his thing. We held it to one (after the eighth) and we still had a chance.”
Sam Houston starting pitcher Riley Gossett permitted seven hits and four runs, while walking three and fanning sixth in 6 1-3 innings of work, keeping the Bearkats in the ballgame. SFA's Tyler Starks earned his third save, allowing just one hit while walking one and striking out another in the final two innings. The Jacks' Seth Campbell (3-0) picked up the win, tossing a scoreless seventh inning.
Despite the loss, by taking the first two games, Sam Houston notched its fourth-straight Southland Conference series win. The Bearkats will return to midweek action for the first time since a March 29 visit to Rice, visiting Texas Tech for a 6:30 p.m. tilt on Tuesday and 2 o'clock game on Wednesday.
