LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The Sam Houston Bearkats announced their arrival to Conference USA with authority on Friday night, blasting NM State, 10-0, in eight innings at Askew Field.
The Kats (12-6, 1-0 CUSA) hit three home runs and finished with 14 hits, while senior starting pitcher Coltin Atkinson was at his record-setting best on a blustery night in the Land of Enchantment.
Atkinson went all 8.0 innings to run his record to 3-1, allowing just two hits and setting a new career high with nine strikeouts against the Aggies (9-9, 0-1 CUSA). Along the way he surpassed the 200-strikeout plateau for his career, becoming the ninth Kat in program history to do so.
As good as Atkinson was, he got plenty of help from the Bearkat bats as Malachi Lott, Caleb Cotton and Walker Janek all went yard on a night which saw Sam Houston reach a season-high 14 hits for the third time this year.
Lott opened the scoring with a 2-run homer in the first inning and never stopped, reaching in five of six plate appearances, finishing 4-for-4 on the night. Janek, meanwhile, put the run-rule into effect with a mammoth 2-run homer in the eighth, his second hit of the game.
For NM State, Treyjen Meza took the loss, falling to 3-2 after allowing eight runs on eight hits in 5.0 frames of work.
Sam Houston wasted no time giving Atkinson a lead to work with, taking a 2-0 advantage in the first inning on a home run by Lott and tacking on two more in the second on RBI from Janek and Lott.
The Kats' righty did his part on the mound, striking out the side in the third and keeping the Aggies off the board throughout his stint.
Sam Houston threatened to add more in the third and fourth, but wasn't able to break it open until the fifth when Cotton blasted a grand slam with two outs in the inning, his first career homer which upped the lead to 8-0.
From there Atkinson did his part, punching out Romeo Ballesteros to lead off the sixth inning for his 200th career strikeout.
Aggie reliever Matt Romero kept the Kats where they were for a short time, but a leadoff single by Easton Loyd in the eighth set the table for Janek who blasted his fourth homer of the year and third in as many games to get the Kats into double digits.
The Bearkats will go after another win over the Aggies on Saturday in the middle game of the series. Game 2 from Las Cruces is set for a 3:00 pm CT first pitch and will be aired on ESPN+.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Coltin Atkinson tied his career high with eight strikeouts, and went the distance for the complete game, the first complete game for a Bearkat since Steven Beard went all 9.0 innings at Tarleton in 2022.
- Atkinson surpassed 200 career strikeouts in the game, becoming the ninth pitcher in Bearkat history to reach that mark.
- Walker Janek's second-inning single extended his season-opening hit streak to 18 games. He is still the lone Kat to have hit safely in all 18 games this year and has hit in 22 consecutive games overall, dating back to the end of the 2023 season.
- His hit streak ties the longest such streak by a Bearkat to open a season since Todd Sebek hit safely in 18 consecutive games to start the 2008 season.
- Janek's 2-run homer in the eighth inning marked the third straight game in which he has homered. It was also his 24th career dinger, moving him into a tie with Colton Cowser, Hunter Hearn and Jason Harrison for ninth all-time at Sam Houston.
- Malachi Lott reached base in five of six plate appearances, homering and finishing with four hits. It is his first 4-hit game as a Bearkat, and the second straight game in which he has homered.
- Caleb Cotton's first career homer was a grand slam in the fifth inning. It marked the second consecutive game the Kats have hit a grand slam.
