MESA, Ariz. — The Bearkats proved they are simply the best in the Western Athletic Conference on Saturday.
Sam Houston remained the hottest team in the country at the plate by stunning Utah Valley with 12-10 and 21-1 victories to claim the 2023 WAC Tournament championship at Hohokam Stadium. The Kats (38-23) entered the day needing two victories over the previously unbeaten Wolverines and took care of business to punch their ticket for the NCAA regionals for the first time since 2017.
Sam Houston will find out where it is headed on the NCAA Selection Show on Monday at 11 a.m. on ESPN2.
The second-seeded Kats were red-hot heading into Saturday after pummeling fourth-seeded Abilene Christian 17-10 and top-seeded Grand Canyon, which topped Sam Houston by a half game to win the regular season title, 22-8 in a pair of elimination games on Friday.
After rallying from seven runs down in the first inning in game one Saturday to knock off the Wolverines to force a winner-take-all contest, it was all Bearkats in the title game.
Sam Houston scored three runs in the first inning with two outs after
Tyler Davis and
Clayton Chadwick drew back-to-back walks.
Walker Janek, the tournament's Most Valuable Player, plated the first run with an RBI single before
Easton Loyd dropped a two-run single into left field.
The flood gates opened in the third as the Kats scored 11 runs to take a commanding 14-0 advantage, and it happened again with two outs.
A fielder's choice by
Justin Wishkoski scored the first run then Davis laced a two-run triple, his second of the game, to right center field before scoring on a wild pitch.
Myles Jefferson,
Carlos Contreras and
Jake Tatom and Wishkoski all drove in runs with hits as UVU committed five errors in the inning.
Meanwhile, starting pitcher
Coltin Atkinson was tossing a gem on the mound. After giving up seven runs in 1 1/3 innings in a 10-6 loss to the Wolverines on Thursday, he only gave up one run on four hits with six strikeouts in six innings to earn the victory in the championship game.
Contreras added a three-run double in the third, Chadwick drove in a run with a groundout in the fourth, a wild pitch tacked one on in the sixth and Jefferson had a sacrifice fly for another one in the sixth that also resulted in a run scoring on a fielding error.
Game one Saturday didn't begin as well for Sam Houston.
The Bearkats took one on the chin in the first inning as the Utah Valley put seven runs on the board. Sam Houston showed why it was able to advance to the final day in the bottom of the frame.
Joe Redfield led off with a solo blast down the right field line, and Davis singled with one out. Janek and Loyd both walked with two outs, and Jefferson dropped a two-run single into left.
Contreras brought home Jefferson with an RBI double, and a fielding error made it 7-5.
UVU got a run back in the second, but the Kats answered on an RBI double by Chadwick that ignited a rally.
Sam Houston took the lead for good with a four-run third after reliever
Braden Davis shut the Wolverines down in the top of the inning.
Loyd led off with an infield single and would score on Contrera's second double of the game. Tatom followed with a single, and Redfield laced an RBI hit up the middle.
Justin Wishkoski then ripped an RBI double down the left field line, and
Tyler Davis grounded out to third to push the lead to 10-7. Wishkoski put the exclamation point on the victory with a no-doubt two-run shot to left in the fifth.
Chandler David relieved
Braden Davis, who earned the win, in the sixth and held UVU to one run to earn the save.
David, Tatom,
Tyler Davis, Redfield and Wishkoski were named to the all-tournament team.
