Kats split doubleheader with SFA

Saturday, May 1

Nacogdoches

12:00 PM

19-18, 15-11

Stephen F. Austin

15-23, 12-14

Sam Houston

Stephen F. Austin

Photo by: DJ Shafer

Kats split doubleheader with SFA

5/1/2021 6:56:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

NACOGDOCHES – Sam Houston split a pair of games on Saturday at Jaycees Field, falling in the opener before rebounding to take the nightcap.

The Kats and Jacks will finish out their series on Sunday beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Jaycees Field.

Game 1 (10 innings)
Stephen F. Austin 5, Sam Houston 4
The Bearkats erased a 3-0 lead to tie things up in the seventh, but SFA managed to scratch across a run in the bottom of the 10^th to pull out its second win of the weekend.

Dominic Robinson was good in a no-decision, punching out eight Lumberjacks in 7.0 innings, but surrendered a pair of homers to the upstart Lumberjacks to account for four runs. Lance Lusk took the loss despite not allowing an earned run, working out of a tough jam in the eighth and finishing with a pair of strikeouts.

Sam Houston out-hit the Jacks for the second straight game, but was unable to turn that into a win, getting three hits apiece from each of the bottom three hitters in the lineup – Wes Folse, Luke Repka and Clayton Chadwick.

Trent Touchet got SHSU on the board with a solo home run in the fifth and Chadwick added one later on with a single to cut the SFA lead to 3-2; however, SFA would get that run back an inning later on an RBI single by Skylar Black.

The Kats then got on the board again in the seventh, cutting it to 4-3 on a single by Repka and then tying it up with a 2-out hit by Easton Loyd.

Lusk then inherited a tough spot in the eighth, entering with the go-ahead runner on third and one out, but proceeded to retire Sean Moore before getting Jared Zarello on strikes to keep it tied.

He was not so fortunate in the 10^th, though, as a leadoff single and a 1-out hit batter got the Kats in hot water and a catcher's interference loaded them up for Moore. The Jacks' third basemen then was the beneficiary of a slow roller to third, with Kyle Cullen beating the plat at the plate with the winning run.

Game 2 (7 innings)
Sam Houston 9, Stephen F. Austin 3
Kyle Backhus tossed a complete game with a career-high nine strikeouts as the Bearkats squared the series with a win in the day's finale.

The Bearkats took out frustrations from Game 1 early and often and Game 2, scoring in four of the first five innings of the game and pounding out 12 hits to assure itself of splitting the day's contests.

Backhus picked up his third win in a row with the 7.0-inning day of work and he was aided by a 14-hit attack from the offense. Jackson Loftin had a pair of hits and RBI while Touchet had another homer and two RBI as part of a 3-for-4 day.

The Kats chased SFA starter Angelo Gennari after 4.0 innings, getting to him for seven runs to drop his record to 2-4.