HUNTSVILLE – The Sam Houston Bearkats had the ideal formula in place on Opening Night, getting strong pitching and timely hitting in a 7-2 win over Oklahoma State at Don Sanders Stadium.
The Kats (1-0) got 5.0 strong innings from starter Coltin Atkinson and 4.0 shutdown innings of relief from Logan Hewitt, while Walker Janek and Jeffrey David had a pair of RBI to help the Kats open up its weekend series on the right foot.
Atkinson did not issue a walk and struck out six Cowboys (0-1) on his way to picking up the win, his first of the year and the 20th of his career. Hewitt then took the ball in the sixth after Sam Houston had retaken the lead and went on to allow just two hits and strike out five in 4.0 shutout innings for his third career save.
OSU starter Sam Garcia was the first of five Cowboys to take the mound, taking the loss after allowing four runs on five hits in 4.1 innings of work.
Easton Loyd and freshman Blake Brown had two hits apiece on the offensive side, but it was Janek and Malachi Lott who each delivered RBI singles in the opening inning to give the Kats an early 2-0 advantage.
That lead held up, thanks in large part to Atkinson, who struck out OSU sluggers Carson Benge and Nolan Schubart with runners in scoring position to end a possible rally. Two innings later, though, OSU took advantage of getting each of its first two hitters on by scoring on a sac fly and an error to tie it up.
But that deadlock did not last for long as Easton Loyd delivered an RBI single to score Jace Martinez in the bottom of the fifth to put the Kats back up 3-2. The Kats added another run off the bat of Janek later in the inning, and an inning later Brady Christensen delivered a pinch-hit RBI single of his own to up the lead to 5-2.
David then put the game away in the seventh, following an intentional walk to Janek by lining the first pitch he saw into the left-field corner for a 2-run double that gave the Kats a comfortable 5-run lead with only six outs to go.
The Kats and Cowboys will tangle again on Saturday in the middle game of the series with first pitch set for 3:00 p.m. The game can be heard via audio on the Bearkat Sports Network.
GAME NOTES
- Sam Houston has now won each of its last two games vs Oklahoma State, having defeated the Cowboys in Arlington in 2022.
- Coltin Atkinson was the winning pitcher for the Kats, picking up the 20th of his career. He's the first Kat to reach 20 career victories since Hayden Wesneski finished his career in 2019 with 25 victories.
- Sam Houston started a pair of true freshmen on the left side of its infield, Blake Brown (3B) and Jace Martinez (SS). The duo reached base in five of combined eight plate appearances, including a 2-for-3 night from Brown which included his first career double.
- Logan Hewitt earned his third career save, going 4.0 innings to close the game. It was the fifth time in the past three seasons he has turned in a relief appearance of at least 4.0 innings and the first time he's done it to complete a save since doing so vs Texas Southern in 2022.
