HUNTSVILLE – On Saturday, the Sam Houston State baseball team dug themselves a three-run hole after one inning. One day later, the deficit was doubled but the result was the same.
The Bearkats overcame Central Arkansas's six-run first inning, pounding the Bears for a pair of three-run frames themselves, to win the Sunday finale 9-7 while notching their second straight Southland Conference series sweep and move the league win streak to eight games.
“It's kind of a groundhog day from yesterday, except we took it a step further and doubled it this time,” second-year head coach Matt Deggs said. “Any time you go down 6-0, you are going to have your hands full but we kept scrapping and grinding. We were hitting balls hard all day. We were confident in the dugout and I knew something good was going to happen, it was just a matter of time.”
Like Saturday starter Heath Donica, freshman Riley Gossett was battered around in the opening frame by the Bears (12-14 overall, 5-7 SLC) to the tune of seven hits, but bounced back with four scoreless frames, and the bullpen followed suit, allowing just one run in the final four innings.
The Bearkats (16-13 overall, 9-3 SLC) battled for three runs in the second, sending eight hitters to the plate. After Bryce Johnson worked a bases-loaded walk to score the first run, two-hole hitter Riley McKnight singled through the left side to make it 6-3.
“I knew he was going to throw me a strike,” McKnight said. “I took the first pitch and it was a strike. I thought he found it right there but he hung a breaking ball middle to outer half of the plate and I put a good swing on it. I wanted to come up big and have a big hit.”
Two innings later, Sam Houston produced some crucial two-out hitting. Matt Broadbent, who finished 2 for 5 with two runs scored, and Spence Rahm, who went 2 for 4 adding two runs and an RBI, notched back-to-back singles to center with the latter scoring a run.
That set the stage for third baseman Andrew Fregia who roped a first-pitch single to right field, scoring a pair of runs while knotting the game at six. On the weekend, the freshman hit at a .500 clip (5 for 10) recording a team-leading five RBIs.
The Kats struck for two more in the sixth, taking the lead on a potential double-play ball, smoked through the legs of the second baseman by Zach Smith to score Johnson from third. With McKnight on third, Robie Rojas earned a four-pitch walk but the ball escaped to the backstop scoring another.
Senior pitcher Hayden Nixon (2-2) picked up the win, tossing three effective innings, allowing three hits while striking out one. The reliever dropped his earned run average to 2.30 for the season while notching his fourth straight scoreless appearance and 10th in 11 games.
“I think as a whole we're coming together,” Nixon said. “We are playing really good ball right now. We pick each other up. We're coming out of the bullpen and throwing strikes. The hitters picked us up today and yesterday. If you can sweep, it's really big for us to be where we want to be.”
Fellow senior Greg Belton picked up his fifth save, allowing a pair of hits and one run in the ninth. Despite the rough first inning, Sam Houston pitchers own a 3.09 ERA in conference games while defensively, the Kats posted their third straight error-free game.
Sam Houston added an insurance run in the seventh as Johnson sent a deep fly out to center field, scoring Beene who was aboard on a hit by pitch. With his second-inning walk, Johnson extended his reached base streak to 43 games.
“Good teams take two out of three,” Deggs said. “Teams that have a chance to be really good or be great, they sweep. Does that say we're in that category? I don't think so yet but what it tells me is that we have a chance to do some things.
“Any time you have a chance to win on Sunday for a sweep, you've got to take advantage of it if your expectation is to go out and win the league, which ours is.”
The Bearkats continue their six-game homestand on Friday, welcoming Stephen F. Austin for the first of three games at Don Sanders Stadium. The opening game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start with Saturday's middle game at 3 p.m. and Sunday's finale at 1 o'clock.
