Kats rally to down LA Tech in tourney opener

Wednesday, May 20

Kennesaw, Ga.

9:00 AM

25-32

Louisiana Tech

33-24

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Sam Houston	2	0	2	1	0	3	0	6	0	14	12	1
Louisiana Tech	3	0	3	5	0	0	0	2	0	13	20	2

Photo by: Maddie Wilson

Kats rally to down LA Tech in tourney opener

5/20/2026 1:59:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Full Game Highlights Jay Sirianni Interview Hunter Alvord Interview

KENNESAW, Ga. – The Sam Houston Bearkats scored six runs in the eighth inning and held on in the ninth for a 14-13 win over Louisiana Tech on Wednesday morning in the opening game of the Conference USA Tournament at Mickey Dunn Stadium.

The Kats (25-32) trailed 11-5 after four innings, but got three runs in the sixth and then exploded for six runs in the eighth - tied for its highest-scoring individual inning of the year - to go ahead 14-11. LA Tech's (33-24) Wesley Scott drew the Bulldogs to within a run with his second homer of the day in the eighth, but freshman Gabe Winans slammed the door shut for his first career save in the ninth, stranding the tying run on base.

Sam Houston had been 0-20 when trailing after the seventh inning in 2026 but found the formula on Wednesday and will now face the No. 2 seed, Liberty, on Thursday morning. With a win over the Flames, Sam Houston would get Friday off before advancing to Saturday's tournament semifinals.

Caleb Cotton homered and had four RBI, drawing a bases-loaded walk in the eighth to tie the game at 11. That set the stage for Hunter Alvord who delivered the game's biggest hit with a 3-run double one batter later which put the Kats up 14-11.

Cade Corcoran also joined Alvord with three RBI in the game, while Jeric Curtis tied a pair of CUSA Tournament single-game records with five hits and three doubles. He also added a pair of stolen bases and scored three times. Ryan Franden also had a pair of hits, including retaking the team lead in homers with his ninth of the season.

The Bearkats needed every one of those runs to overcome a Bulldog offense which homered four times and had 20 hits, tying the most hits given up by a Sam Houston opponent this season.

The game looked to be billed as a pitching duel with first team all-CUSA selections Ryan Peterson and Declan Dahl getting the starts, but neither was able to work deep into the game. The Kats chased Dahl from the hill after just 2.2 innings, while Peterson was lifted after 3.0 innings.

Jonathan Anders ended up garnering the win in relief for Sam Houston after logging 3.0 innings and allowing just one run. Winans, meanwhile, struck out four of the eight hitters he faced and became the sixth Bearkat pitcher this season to record a save.

Things were off to a good start for Sam Houston as the Kats used small ball to plate a pair in the top of the first against Dahl on a bloop single by Corcoran and a squeeze bunt by Cotton, but LA Tech answered with a 3-run homer by Eli Berch in the bottom half of the inning.

Sam Houston retook the lead in a loud way in the top of the third when Cotton connected on a 2-run homer of his own that surged the Kats ahead 4-3. However, the Bulldogs answered with more big swings, going back in front 6-4 on back-to-back homers from Matt Houston and Scott in the bottom of the third.

After a bunt single from Curtis cut the lead to 6-5 in the fourth, the Bulldogs were able to land a knockout punch with a 5-run bottom half of the inning. The Dawgs opened the inning with four straight singles and took advantage of a key error in right field to push its lead to 11-5.

Sam Houston responded in the sixth with three 2-out runs in the sixth, scoring twice on a single from Corcoran and getting the LA Tech lead down to 11-8 on the second error of the day on the Bulldogs.
That frame put the Kats in position for the comeback, which came against LA Tech freshman reliever Thomas Allen. The eighth started harmlessly enough with a walk to Jace Martinez before Franden ambushed the first pitch he saw from Allen for a 2-run homer which drew the Kats to within a run.

Curtis followed with his third double of the day and Allen proceeded to issue three straight walks, tying the game on a free pass to Cotton. The Dogs then turned to Connor Nation out of the pen, but Alvord made them pay when he roped a 1-1 pitch into the left-field corner to score three and vault the Kats into the lead.

Scott's second homer of the day in the eighth made it interesting in the ninth, as did a 2-out walk to Colton Coates. But Winans was able to bear down and coax a harmless pop fly from Berch to close it out with the tying run on base.

UP NEXT
The Kats will look to advance in the CUSA Tournament on Thursday when it takes on Liberty, the tournament's No. 2 seed. First pitch from Kennesaw is set for 9:00 a.m. CT with the game to be aired on ESPN+.