RUSTON, La. – The Sam Houston Bearkats stayed alive in the Super 1 Foods Conference USA Tournament on Friday morning, dispatching Middle Tennessee, 2-0, at JC Love Field.
Jeffrey David homered and drove in both Bearkat (34-23) runs of the game in support of starter Michael Watson who struck out seven in 7.0 innings of work to run his record to 7-1 on the year.
The Kats will now face the loser of the second game of Friday between top-seeded Louisiana Tech and No. 5 Liberty in an elimination game at 7:30 p.m.
Sam Houston needed the effort on the hill from Watson to counter Blue Raider (20-36) starter Chandler Alderman, who finished with a near identical line of seven strikeouts in 7.0 innings.
But the MTSU lefty allowed single runs in the first and fourth off the bat of David, and Chandler David backed up Watson by striking out four and left runners on base in both the ninth to earn his eighth save of the year
Sam Houston took advantage of a leadoff double by Caleb Cotton in the first inning, getting out to a 1-0 lead on a run-scoring infield single by Jeffrey David.
From there, Watson locked it down through the seventh inning, leaving a pair of runners on base in the fourth and seventh innings before exiting seven strikeouts and a 2-0 lead.
That 2-0 lead came courtesy of David again as the senior led off the seventh inning with his sixth homer of the year, a solo blast to straightaway center field off of Alderman.
UP NEXT
The Kats will now the loser of this afternoon's winners-bracket game between top-seeded Louisiana Tech and Liberty in an elimination game scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Each game of the CUSA Tournament can be heard on the Bearkat Sports Network with Carlos Zimmermann on the call. Additionally, each game leading up to the championship will be streamed and available to watch on ESPN+.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Watson finished with seven strikeouts in his 7.0 innings of work, the sixth time this year he has punched out seven hitters in a game in 2024. In two games against MTSU this year, Watson finished with 16 strikeouts and only two walks in 13.2 innings of work.
- Jeffrey David went 2-for-4 with a homer and a pair of RBI. It was his sixth homer of the year and 22nd multi-hit game.
- The shutout is the third of the season for the Kats, but the first 9-inning shutout of the year. The last time the Kats had a 9-inning shutout was in the opener of the 2023 Karbach Classic when the Kats shut out Iowa, 6-0.
- The last time the Kats had a 9-inning shutout when scoring two runs or less themself was the second game of the 2020 COVID season when the Kats beat Saint Mary's by a 2-0 count.
