Sam Houston State Beats Southeastern Louisiana, Will Play for Third Consecutive Tournament Title
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas ? Sam Houston State earned a spot in the championship game of the 2009 Southland Conference Tournament with a 7-2 victory over Southeastern Louisiana Friday night at Whataburger Field. The Bearkats have won each of the last two tournament championships.
The victory, the Bearkats’ 11th consecutive win in the conference tournament, sets up a date with either Texas State or Lamar. The Bobcats, the regular season champions, need one win against the Cardinals for a berth against Sam Houston. A loss Friday night would force another game, which would be played Saturday at 1 p.m. before the championship game, which will be played at 6 p.m. and televised by the Southland Conference Television Network.
The Bearkats, playing as the seventh seed in this week’s tournament, scored three unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to strike first. Southeastern designated hitter Cody Gougler pulled the Lions within a 3-2 score with a two-run single in the top of the seventh.
Sam Houston (35-22) answered with a run in the bottom of the inning to extend its lead to two, 4-2, thanks to an RBI single by catcher Mark Wyatt. For some reason though, it didn’t seem like enough.
Southeastern, which threatened in the third when it left the bases loaded, put two on with one out in the eighth, but the two runners were stranded after a ground out and a fly out.
The missed chance proved costly for the Lions as the Bearkats added three runs to build its lead to five, 7-2. Third baseman Ryan Mooney knocked in the first run and shortstop Jon Reed plated the final two runs of the game with a single up the middle.
Reed was one of four Bearkats with multiple hits and was one of two, alongside center fielder Adam DeLaGarza, with two RBI. Ty Summerlin led all hitters in going 3-for-4.
Sam Houston starter Dallas Gallant earned the win to even his record to 4-4. He allowed both runs on four hits in his six innings. Will Skelton earned his second save of the season after pitching the final three innings for the Bearkats. Southeastern starter Shawn Herring was tagged with the loss to drop to 2-5.
Southeastern, which earned the second seed in the conference tournament after going 21-12 in league play, came within one win of tying the school record and sits at 37-22 going into Monday’s selections for the NCAA tournament.
All tournament games are being streamed on SLC NOW on the Southland web site at www.southland.org. Live stats for the games are also available at that address.
Sam Houston State Head Coach Mark Johnson
“Obviously it starts on the bump, starting pitcher Dallas Gallant gave us a chance to win. We played solid defense. Braeden Riley made some outstanding back-hand plays. The double play has been big for us all week, we turned some good double plays and shut down their running game a little bit. We had some clutch hitting, some keys guys who aren’t necessarily our most prolific hitters stepped up in key situations. Heath Pugh and Ryan Mooney got big hits for us. Once we extended the lead, we felt comfortable; the one or two-run lead wasn’t going to be enough. Once we extended it to five, that made it easier for Will Skelton to go out there and get after them.”
“Jon Reed has come up big for us in key situations all year long and that is why he is where he is in the lineup. Adam DeLaGarza is sitting there in the nine hole and his hitting looks a little bit ugly at times, but he will get a big hit for us and turn it around. He really gave us a lift. If you are going to look at one major hit to give us momentum, DeLaGarza’s was it. Like I told the guys afterwards, everybody counts and everybody is contributing.”
Sam Houston State Pitcher Dallas Gallant
“I knew that I had to get us late into the game and eat up some innings. I knew our offense would get us some runs and our defense would be great behind us. I finally got in a groove around the third inning and everything started turning the right way then.”
“I knew that if I kept throwing good, I would get an opportunity to start again. I didn’t know where it would be but tonight was my opportunity. I thought I did a good job with the defense backing me up and our offense producing.”
“I had to stay calm when I got into a jam and let my stuff do what it does. I just relaxed out there and it helped take a lot of pressure off.”
Sam Houston State Shortstop Jon Reed
“We’ve worked all year for this moment, defensive work has been a daily thing for us. It’s all about staying focused out there and getting the job done.”
On two-run single in eighth inning
“I know that Southeastern Louisiana had a lot of fight in them at the end and we needed a big hit to give us a little more cushion. I have had a couple of big hits for us this season and I felt like I had to come up big in that moment as well. I got the ball in play and found the hole up the middle.”
Southeastern La. Head Coach Jay Artigues
“I’m proud of our guys, they fought really hard and kept doing what they did all year long.”
On winning two games after being behind in the tournament for a total of 24 come-from-behind wins
“It shows the perseverance these kids have. They did this all year long. We don’t try to make it a habit. It would be nice to get ahead 24 times but I am proud of what they did.”
On the chance of getting an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament
“I would like to see them get a shot. They had a little letdown in the tournament but they earned the No. 2 seed behind Texas State, who is a great ballclub and deserves to be in a regional. Hopefully, we will get a chance. There are a lot of good teams out there. I may be a little biased, but I think we deserve a shot.”
Southeastern La. Outfielder Brian McCants
“It was definitely a big win against UTSA today, it definitely got us hyped up. If a team this close always come back from behind, you know you are always in the game. We know at any time we can have that big run and just keep going.”