Sam Houston hot start halted by Mother Nature
5/14/2016 6:41:00 PM | Baseball
BEAUMONT – The Sam Houston State offense was clicking on all cylinders. The Bearkats would be slowed down by Mother Nature, however, on Saturday afternoon against Lamar.
The squads went into a lightning delay at 3:34 p.m. and with further storms entering southeast Texas, it was ultimately decided to pick back up on Sunday at 11 a.m. Sam Houston leads 7-3 with two outs in the bottom of the fourth. The three-game finale will begin 45 minutes following the conclusion.
“I don't know that there is going to be a break with the lightning settling in,” second-year head coach Matt Deggs said. “We'll figure it out tomorrow, pitching wise. If you're going to have to resume a game, having a four-run lead is a pretty good way to do it.”
The Cardinals jumped ahead in the opening frame, following up a single and error with an RBI double but Riley Gossett buckled down, stranding the runners there with a strikeout, shallow-outfield pop up and nicely snagged lineout by Andrew Fregia at third.
“That was a great job of damage control right there,” Deggs said. “It could have spun away from us real quick right there. Again in the third, we played some pretty good defense. Riley was really composed and I hate to see the weather to set in like this for him.”
Sam Houston bounced right back in the second as Fregia led off with a hustling triple to left center, his seventh of the season. The freshman, who entered the weekend No. 10 nationally in the category came home to score two hitters later on Robie Rojas's double. The RBI was his fourth of the series and tied the game at 1-1.
The Bearkats poured on six runs in the third, pounding out seven hits in the frame. Zach Smith broke the tie, scoring two runs with a liner through the right side, plating Odom and Johnson, who each reached on infield singles.
Sam Houston's biggest damage came with two outs as Rojas's RBI single was followed by consecutive doubles from Jaxxon Grisham and Taylor Beene.
“It takes two things to score with two outs and that's heart and guts,” Deggs said. “I've said it a million times this year, these guys are always in the fight. It doesn't matter if you have three outs to play with or two, it doesn't make a difference to them.”
Gossett's final weather-shortened line included 3 2-3 innings pitched, three runs and six hits. The freshman walked one and fanned a pair.
“Tomorrow is a brand new day and we need to come out ready to get after it,” Deggs said. “I was proud of the way we attacked and set a tone so far in this game today. Any time you have something happen like this in the middle of a game, it can go one of two ways. We need to be ready to go.”
