Sam Houston State Races to Win Over New Orleans
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SUGAR LAND, Texas - Sam Houston State looked impressive from the plate and the mound Friday evening while cruising to a 7-1 win over New Orleans in its Southland Conference Baseball Tournament game at Constellation Field.
With the win, the third-seeded Bearkats secure a spot in Saturday night's conference championship game, scheduled for 6 p.m. They'll await either Houston Baptist or Central Arkansas.
The Huskies and Bears battle in tonight's nightcap. If Central Arkansas comes out on top, they'll move on to the championship game. If Houston Baptist wins, both teams will have equal 2-1 tourney records, and they'll play again tomorrow at 1 p.m.
"We had a few things go against us, but we staved it off with good pitching and defense," said Bearkats head coach Matt Deggs. "We were really able to capture the momentum. The hitters kept grinding and we were able to break through. That's been our staple all year (the two-out production). I thought our hitters were tenacious all night long."?
Blake Chisolm paced the Sam Houston offense in going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Robie Rojas continued his hot hitting ways with a home run and two runs scored. Rojas now has eight hits and two homers for the Bearkats, who are 3-0 in Sugar Land.
Five Bearkats pitchers combined to allow one run (unearned), while scattering six hits. Starter Seth Bellow tossed four innings and coughed up just one hit. Riley Cooper, the game's winning pitcher, contributed 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Dakota Mills followed with a scoreless inning and Kyle Backhus chipped in with 1/3 of an inning, before Nick Miklajchak recorded the final three outs.
Sam Houston State jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second when Rojas came across with the first run after Jaxxon Grisham worked a bases loaded walk. The next hitter, Taylor Beene, stepped in and drove a fly ball to right field that was deep enough for Blake Chisolm to score.
The margin was increased to 3-0 in the sixth, thanks to red-hot hitter Rojas. The Bearkats catcher clubbed his second homer of the tournament and his eighth hit since arriving in Sugar Land. Three batters later, pinch hitter Josh Biles made it 4-0 when he doubled to right field to bring home Chisolm. Privateers right fielder Hezekiah Randolph laid out in attempt to make the diving catch on the flare, but couldn't come up with the ball.
Randolph drove in the lone New Orleans run with a sharp single to right-center field. The ball was misplayed, which allowed Aaron Palmer to race around the bases and put the UNO on the board.
The Bearkats added three insurance runs in the ninth, all on a triple by Chisolm. The hit plated Mac Odom and Andrew Fregia. A Privateers' wild relay throw let Chisolm trot home, making it 7-1.
Sam Houston State is making a return trip to the Southland Conference Championship game after winning both the tournament and regular-season crowns in 2016. They will be trying to take a sxith Southland tourney first-place trophy back to Huntsville. The appearance will mark a third-straight time the Bearkats have played in the championship.
Every game of the Southland Conference Baseball Tournament will be carried live on ESPN3. Southland assistant commissioner Chris Mycoskie will handle play-by-play duties, while several Southland teams' radio announcers will also showcased in the ESPN3 booth during the early rounds. For the title game, Mycoskie will be matched with color analyst Greg Swindell, a former first-team All-American at the University of Texas and 17-year Major Leaguer.