No. 1 Sam Houston State Defeats No. 8 Stephen F. Austin
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SUGAR LAND, Texas – No. 1 Sam Houston State defeated No. 8 Stephen F. Austin 5-3 Wednesday at Constellation Field in the 2016 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament.
The Bearkats tallied 11 hits with freshman right fielder Riley McKnight, senior first baseman Zach Smith and freshman designated hitter Hunter Hearn each picking up two hits.
The Lumberjacks got on the board early, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. Junior shortstop Tyler Kendrick scored on a groundout double play for the first run. Junior designated hitter Conner Fikes picked up an RBI single as junior second baseman Nick Ramos scored for a 2-0 lead over the Bearkats.
Sam Houston State junior shortstop Taylor Beene singled down the right field line scoring Smith, cutting SFA’s lead in half, 2-1, in the bottom of the second inning.
In the top of the seventh inning the Bearkats took the lead 5-2. Beene scored on a throwing error after sophomore center fielder Bryce Johnson singled to the left side to tie the game, 2-2. Freshman outfielder Jaxxon Grisham and Johnson scored before McKnight scored on a single from junior second baseman Lance Miles.
The Lumberjacks tacked on a run in the bottom of the eighth inning on a fielder’s choice as Kendrick scored to make it a 5-3 ball game.
Sam Houston advances to take on the winner of No. 4 Lamar and No. 5 Central Arkansas Thursday at 7 p.m. while SFA will face the loser of the Cardinals and Bears Thursday at noon.