JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – The Sam Houston Bearkats put an end to the weekend and a 12-game losing skid in loud fashion on Sunday afternoon, blasting Jax State 12-4 at Jim Case Stadium. 

Brady Christensen homered twice and he and Hunter Autrey each had four RBI to lead a Bearkat (9-35, 3-15 CUSA) offensive eruption that saw all 12 runs scored with two outs.  

The win also served as the 150th career victory for Bearkat head coach Jay Sirianni.

The offensive effort aided a strong pitching performance from Cam Diaz and Tate Hickman, who combined to get the Kats to the finish line. Diaz earned his first win as a Bearkat, allowing just three runs over 6.0 innings with four strikeouts before giving it over to Hickman who earned a 3-inning save by punching out one Gamecock (26-18, 9-9 CUSA) and allowed just one run in the ninth. 

JSU starter Maddox McDougall took the loss to fall to 2-1 despite retiring each of the first eight hitters he faced before Grant Nottlemann's 2-out single in the third inning. Nottlemann finished the day by reaching base and scoring in each of his first four trips to the plate, registering three singles and an RBI. 

Each of his first two hits came with two outs in the third and fifth and preluded mammoth 2-run shots from Christensen in what was his first multi-homer game as a Bearkat. Autrey, meanwhile, doubled twice and had three hits. He, along with Nottlemann, Blake Brown and Jace Martinez had RBI singles in a 4-run seventh inning and his 3-run double in the eighth ultimately broke the game open. 

UP NEXT  
The Kats return home on Tuesday to host Baylor in a game to be aired on ESPN+. The game vs the Bears is set for a 6:00 p.m. first pitch from Don Sanders Stadium.