Sam Houston State Clinches Regular-Season Title
Sam Houston State 8, Southeastern Louisiana 3
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Sam Houston State scored seven runs in the two innings and never looked back, beating Southeastern Louisiana 8-3 and winning the Southland Conference regular season title for the first time since 1989.
The Kats got going early, scoring three runs in the first inning. Kevin Miller got it going with a 2-run single, scoring Colt Atwood and Luke Plucheck. Miller then scored on a wild pitch for the third of the frame.
In the second, the Kats plated four more. Once again it was the top of the Bearkat order doing the damage. Atwood and Plucheck each singled and scored and Miller drove in his third run of the game. Jake Arrington had the big hit of the inning with a 2-run single.
It was all the run support starting pitcher Michael Oros needed. The senior went seven innings, allowing just two runs on five hits to pick up his seventh win of the season.
Brandon Bergen pitched the final two innings of relief for the Bearkats.
For the full recap, visit gobearkats.com
Lamar 9, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 1
BEAUMONT, Texas - Lamar University pounded out 17 hits Sunday afternoon at Vincent-Beck Stadium on its way to a convincing 9-1 Southland Conference baseball victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The Cardinals are fighting for one of the eight spots in the Southland Conference Tournament, but will likely need a sweep in the final series at UTSA next weekend. At 12-18 in SLC play, the Cardinals (20-29 overall) will also need some help to ensure a spot in the tournament.
Lamar got on the board right at the start, putting up three runs in the first inning and two more in the second to open up a 5-0 lead on the Islanders (23-28 overall, 14-16 in the Southland). While Lamar managed 19 hits over the first two games of the series, it was the timeliness of the hits Sunday that made the difference.
"I was very happy with the way we played today in all areas of the game," said LU head coach Jim Gilligan. "We got timely hits when we needed them and that was the difference between today's game and the first two in the series when we lost."
The Cards were able to break through in the first inning after the first two batters got out. Third baseman Darian Johnson got things going with a double and scored the first run of the game on a Brad Picha single. Garret Autrey, who joined Picha with three hits on the day, then singled to put runners on the corners.
For the full recap, visit lamarcardinals.com
Nicholls State 8, Northwestern State 4
Northwestern State 3, Nicholls State 2
THIBODAUX, La. - The Nicholls State University baseball team outhit the Northwestern State Demons over the course of both games of a doubleheader on Sunday, as the Colonels earned a split dropping a heartbreaking 3-2 decision in game one while jumping out to a large lead and not looking back in an 8-4 finale win.
Nicholls (25-25, 12-17 SLC) claimed their first series win in nearly a month and have won the last two against the Demons (18-30, 13-17) dating back to 2011.
Trailing 2-1 in game two, the Colonels exploded for four runs on four hits in the bottom of the third sending eight batters to the plate in the inning to regain the lead 5-2.
Nicholls finished with double-digit hits for the second time on the day, led by Jeremy Hill who extended his hitting streak to 12 games to tie his career high with four hits in the contest, while Blake Bergeron finished a double short of the cycle going 3-for-5 with four RBI as he belted his seventh home run of the season.
In game one the Colonels left 12 runners on base in the and still had a chance to win the game in the final inning but eventually fell to the Demons 3-2.
Down two runs in the final inning, Nicholls was able to plate one run with a runner still at third with two outs, but a tough grounder ended the game preserving the Demon win.
For the full recap, visit geauxcolonels.com
McNeese State 2, UT Arlington 1
McNeese State 2, UT Arlington 1
LAKE CHARLES, La. - McNeese State got a three hit pitching performance from Tyler McDonald in the first game and a 10th inning walk off home run by Seth Granger in the second as the Cowboys swept a Southland Conference twinbill from UT Arlington by identical 2-1 scores here Sunday afternoon.
The double victory gave the Cowboys a sweep over the Mavericks and lifted their league record to 16-14. They had won the opener on Friday by a 4-2 score. UTA now has the same conference record as the Cowboys and the two teams are tied for fourth place in the SLC standings with three games remaining, one game behind third place Texas State and two behind second place Southeastern Louisiana.
The Cowboys, who are now 22-26 on the season, will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to play UL Monroe in a non-conference game. They complete their regular season on the road in a three game league series beginning Friday against Southeastern Louisiana.
Granger, one of five seniors playing his final game in front of the home fans, scored the winning run in both games.
In the opener of the twinbill, Collin Todd knocked in Granger from third base with the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Granger had led off the inning with a triple to right field that was lost in the sun by UTA's Preston Beck. Matt Henry and Renny Weber had tried to get Granger in by bunting but miscued. Todd then singled through the left side for the game winning hit.
For the full recap, visit mcneesesports.com
Stephen F. Austin 10, Central Arkansas 7
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack baseball team saw homers from Max Lamantia and Bobby Loveless to cap a 10-7 win and take the series over Central Arkansas Sunday afternoon in the conference series finale at Jaycees Field on Mother's Day.
Alex Moshier (5-0) picked up his fifth win in relief, tossing the final two and two-thirds innings. The Nederland native did not allow a base runner in eight batters faced.
Stephen F. Austin (21-30, 14-16 SLC) outhit UCA (23-26, 15-15 SLC) 12-11 in the finale. The Lumberjacks offense saw five different players finish with a pair of hits, highlighted by Lamantia and Loveless. The duo finished with seven of the ten SFA RBI in the game. Rory Myers and Freddy Villalobos each finished two-for-three, while Hunter Dozier went two-for-five.
After Colton Eubanks retired the side in the opening frame, the 'Jacks capitalized on an RBI single from Loveless to take 1-0 advantage. With one out, Dozier extended his ongoing record for doubles in a single-season to 20 with a one-hopper to the wall in the right center gap. The Denton native advanced to third on a grounder to short the next batter, before coming in on Loveless' single through the left side. Eubanks fanned Forrestt Allday and Blake Marchal, before Ethan Harris lined out to center field. The strikeout to Allday was the first time in the series that he failed to reach base to open the game.
For the full recap, visit sfajacks.com
UTSA 4, Texas State 0
San Marcos, Texas - Texas State had its 10-game winning streak against its I-35 rival UTSA snapped on Sunday afternoon at Bobcat Ballpark as the Roadrunners blanked the Bobcats, 4-0, in the series finale. However, Texas State won the first two games of the series to run its streak of consecutive Southland Conference home series victories to 20.
Prior to Sunday's game, Texas State honored six of its seniors playing their final regular season home game at Bobcat Ballpark. Those recognized were pitcher Dylan Adamek, outfielder Cody Gambill, infielder/catcher Casey Kalenkosky, outfielder/pitcher Jeff McVaney, infielcer Isaac Nuti and infielder Tyler Sibley.
The Bobcats could not get going offensively on Sunday as the team managed just two hits for the game. Texas State was held without a hit until the sixth inning when McVaney doubled to right field to break up the no-hitter.
Texas State then threatened in the eighth inning, putting runners on second and third with no outs before the Roadrunners were able to work out of the inning scoreless, inducing a pair of infield pop-ups before closing out the inning.
The Bobcats had a rough start to the game with three errors in the first inning that allowed UTSA to take a 2-0 lead on a pair of unearned runs. The Roadrunners would then add a run in the fifth and a run in the eighth for the final 4-0 tally.
Texas State starter Kyle Finnegan allowed just two earned runs over seven innings on the mound, striking out four while limited the visitors to four hits and two walks for the game. He dropped to 5-6 this season in taking the loss.
For the full recap, visit txstatebobcats.com