HUNTSVILLE – Walker Janek and Easton Loyd each had three hits and Miles Hellums worked through 6.0 innings in his start on the mound as the Sam Houston Bearkats completed a weekend sweep of Dartmouth with an 11-3 win on Sunday at Don Sanders Stadium.
The Kats (5-2) scored three times in the first three frames before putting up four runs in the fifth and two more apiece in the sixth and seventh. Loyd finished his day 3-for-3 with three runs scored, also drawing a pair of walks to reach base in all five plate appearances on the day.
Janek, meanwhile, went 3-for-5 with a game-high three RBI and was joined by Hunter Autrey with a multi-hit game. The junior from Corsicana had a pair of hits, including a mammoth solo home run in the bottom of the sixth.
In all, it was a good day for the offense, but the Kats got just what they needed from the pitching staff as well. Hellums was able to rebound from a tough start on Opening Weekend vs Oklahoma State to tally 6.0 frames of work vs the Big Green (0-3) for his first win of the year. The big righty allowed a pair of runs, but did not walk a batter while striking out four.
Chandler David came on to strike out two in 2.0 innings of bridge relief before Malachi Lott made his season debut on the mound, striking out one in a scoreless ninth.
Dartmouth starter Jack Metzger took the loss, allowing seven runs – five earned – in 4.0 innings. The Kats also got four runs off of a trio of Big Green relievers.
Sam Houston staked itself to an early 3-0 lead with an RBI double from Lott in the first and two more runs in the third, including an RBI double from Janek. The Big Green responded with a run in the fourth and a run in the fifth, but the Kats responded with four scores in the fifth to stretch out the advantage.
RBI singles from Loyd and Janek got SHSU on the board first in the frame, followed by sacrifice flies from both Lott and Jeffrey David. Autrey delivered his blast to lead off the sixth and Janek added another RBI single later in the inning before the Kats capped their scoring with two more runs in the seventh.
Sam Houston now has a busy week ahead of it with a pair of midweek contests on the docket, beginning Tuesday when it hosts HCU. The Kats will then immediately turn around and host UT Arlington on Wednesday before welcoming St. John's to Don Sanders for three games beginning Friday.
GAME NOTES
- The Kats hit .330 as a team for the series vs Dartmouth with 13 extra-base hits, including 10 doubles.
- Sam Houston also got at least 5.2 innings from each of its three starters vs the Big Green with the weekend rotation finishing with a 2.04 ERA for the series and 14 strikeouts to only one walk issued.
- Walker Janek and Jeffrey David are the two remaining Kats to hit safely in every game of 2024.
