MESA, Ariz. — Wishes do come true.
Justin Wishkoski blasted a field grand slam in the 11
th inning to lift Sam Houston to an 11-7 walk-off victory over Abilene Christian in the opening round of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament at Hohokam Stadium on Wednesday.
The second-seeded Bearkats (34-22) will face third-seeded Utah Valley in the winner's bracket Thursday at 4 p.m. The Wolverines defeated Seattle 16-6 in eight innings on Wednesday.
This marks the first time Sam Houston has won a league tournament opening round game since the Kats knocked off Stephen F. Austin 13-1 en route to winning the Southland Conference Tournament in 2017 to earn a spot in the NCAA Lubbock Regional. The Bearkats defeated 15
th ranked Arizona and No. 5 Texas Tech twice to advance to the program's first-ever Super Regional appearance that season.
Wednesday's game was tied at 7 at the end of regulation and neither team could get anything going at the plate when it headed into extra innings.
First-team All-WAC reliever
Chandler David shut down the Wildcats' offense in the eighth, ninth, 10
th and 11
th innings to give Sam Houston a chance to walk it off, and Wishkoski would come through in a big way.
Easton Loyd led off the bottom of the 11
th with a walk and
Jake Tatom ripped a double down the right field line to put two runners in scoring position. All-WAC first-team center fielder
Joe Redfield was intentionally walked to load the bases.
ACU brought in four infielders to try to cut the Kats off at home plate on a ground ball, but on the first pitch, Wishkoski showed why he was also a first-team All-WAC selection when he laced a grand slam down the left field line for his fifth RBI of the game to end it.
Tyler Davis, Redfield, Loyd also drove in runs for the Bearkats. Davis earned the victory by throwing four no-hit innings to improve to 5-0 on the season.
