HUNTSVILLE – Easton Loyd drove in a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth with a bases-loaded single to give the Sam Houston Bearkats a walk-off win over Northwestern State in the opener of a 4-game series on Friday night at Don Sanders Stadium.
The Kats (4-10, 1-4 SLC) trailed 2-1 entering the ninth, but loaded the bases on walks to
Clayton Chadwick and
Bryce Holmes as well as a single by
Mason Schulz. Loyd then lined a 3-1 pitch off of Demon (7-8, 2-3 SLC) reliever Alex Makarewich's foot that found its way into shallow right field, allowing Sam Houston to bring in the winning runs.
It was the third time in the game Loyd had reached base, having walked twice earlier in the night and made a winner of
Lance Lusk who struck out a pair of Demons in a perfect ninth inning.
That all came in relief of starter
Tyler Davis, who bounced back from a rough outing at Southeastern Louisiana to put the Kats on his back for 8.0 strong innings. The righty did not walk a batter and struck out a career-high 11 hitters in the no-decision with four of the seven hits allowed to NSU hitters coming in the 2-run fourth inning.
Northwestern State got a pair of runs in that frame on four straight hits, including RBI singles by Jeffrey Elkins and Cam Sibley, but Davis got Jake Haze to ground out to end the inning and then proceeded to retire 11 more consecutive Demon hitters before the next NSU hit came with two outs in the eighth.
Sam Houston had its chances offensively against NSU starter Jonathan Harmon, but was only able to scratch across one run when an RBI grounder from Schulz scored Holmes who had reached on a 1-out triple to center field in the fifth, cutting the Demon lead to 2-1.
The Kats left a pair stranded in the sixth and another in the eighth, not getting their first hit with a runner on base until Schulz's single to load the bases in the ninth.
Sam Houston and Northwestern State will now play a pair of games on Saturday beginning at 2:00 p.m. at The Don. The first game of the day is set for seven innings with a 9-inning affair to follow.
Each game can be heard on KSAM 101.7 FM's digital platform.
