HUNTSVILLE – Walker Janek homered twice and drove in six runs to lead Sam Houston to a 9-6 win over Tarleton on Friday night at Don Sanders Stadium.
Janek's 3-run homer in the third and his leadoff shot in the seventh each put the Bearkats (25-21) ahead on the scoreboard, but it was his 2-run single in the bottom of the eighth which provided key late-game insurance to help the Kats snap a 5-game losing streak.
The Bearkat (25-21) backstop was one of two Sam Houston hitters with 3-hit nights as Jeffrey David homered and hit safely three times. His third hit, a leadoff single in the eighth, put him in position to score the winning run on a wild pitch just two batters prior to Janek's single.
Chandler David earned his third win of the season with 1.1 innings of relief, while Coltin Atkinson took a no-decision after allowing five runs with five strikeouts in 6.0 frames. Logan Hewitt also struck out two in 1.2 innings.
The Texans (25-21) used a bevy of arms as well with Reese Bassinger taking the loss, allowing four runs in 2.0 innings.
The ball was flying out of Don Sanders Stadium on Friday with the teams combining for five home runs. Tarleton used the longball early to get out in front on a 2-run blast by Connor Miears and a solo shot from Cris Enriquez.
But David got the Kats on the board with a solo blast in the second, his second homer in three games, and Janek followed an inning later when he shot a 3-run blast out to right field to surge the Kats ahead 4-3 after three innings.
An RBI double by Easton Loyd made it a 5-3 game in the fourth, but the Kats could not hold the lead and Sergio Guerra retied it in the fifth with a 2-out, 2-run base hit.
Janek then sent a no-doubt solo blast out to left field to open the home half of the seventh, but again the Kats could not hold the lead. A leadoff double by Hunter Smith was followed by an RBI single by Ike Shirey that was chopped over a charging Hunter Autrey at first base.
Tarleton threatened to retake the lead, but Jake Tatom made the defensive play of the game by throwing Slade McCloud out at the plate and Chandler David slammed the door on the inning with a strikeout of Miears with the bases loaded.
That set the Kats up for a successful eighth inning, one which started with David's single. Autrey was immediately hit by a pitch and after a sac bunt from Loyd, David put the Kats back in front 7-6 when he scampered home on a wild pitch from Bassinger.
A walk to Jace Martinez and a catcher's interference with Caleb Cotton at the plate loaded the sacks for Janek and the junior smoked a 3-2 pitch back up the middle to plate a pair of runs and make it a 9-6 advantage, which was plenty for David in the ninth.
UP NEXT
The Kats and Texans were originally scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. start, but due to the likelihood of inclement weather later in the week, the teams will now play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 2:00 p.m. Each game can be heard on the Bearkat Sports Network.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Walker Janek's 2-homer game was the second game of his career with multiple longballs. The last also came against Tarleton, in 2022 in Stephenville.
- Coltin Atkinson punched out five hitters, giving him 240 career strikeouts. He now stands in sole possession of second place on the all-time strikeout list at Sam Houston.
