Sam Houston State Wins Elimination Game vs. McNeese State, 7-1
SAN MARCOS, Texas - A five-run sixth
inning sparked by a double by catcher John Hall and home runs by left fielder
Luke Plucheck and third baseman Kevin Miller powered Sam Houston to a 7-1
victory over McNeese State in an elimination game on the second day of the 2012
Southland Conference Baseball Tournament.
The No. 1-seeded Bearkats, who left eight on base in
Wednesday's 9-2 loss to No. 8 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, had stranded
six runners in the first five innings to start Thursday's contest with No. 5
seed McNeese.
Right fielder Jake Arrington started the top of the
sixth reaching on an error. A double to the left field wall by catcher John
Hale scored Arrington. Hale scored on a fielder's choice by shortstop Corey
Toups. Plucheck followed with his second home run of the year to center field
to score Toups. Miller blasted his first homer of the season to left field.
McNeese State got a run back in the bottom of the
sixth as catcher Matt Henry doubled, reached third on an error, then scored on
a sacrifice fly by center fielder Andrew Guillotte.
Sam Houston extended their lead to 7-1 on an RBI
single by center fielder Colt Atwood and a bases loaded walk by designated
hitter Anthony Azar.
Justin Jackson, who did not give up a hit to McNeese
until the ninth inning of his 2-0 shutout in Lake Charles April 21, kept the
Cowboy bats silent again Thursday. The
senior hurler gave up only two hits in the first seven innings and ended the
day surrendering just five hits as he upped his season record to 8-4 in his
second complete game performance of the season.
McNeese State's Tyler McDonald (4-4) was the losing
pitcher. The Cowboys end the season with a 24-30 overall record. The Bearkats now stand 37-19 for the year.
Sam Houston State now will face the loser of the
second round winner's bracket matchup between No. 4 seed UT-Arlington and
A&M-Corpus Christi in another elimination game Friday at 9 a.m. The winner
of the elimination contest will take on the Mavericks-Islanders winner Friday at
4 p.m.
Postgame Quotes
Sam
Houston State Coach David Pierce
"We kept getting all of our hits with two outs, then we couldn't get the big
hit with two outs. It was a little frustrating. We were in the sixth inning and
we hadn't scored a run despite having eight hits, but we put them all together
in the sixth, and it turned out to be a great inning for us."
On Luke Plucheck's performance
"He's been solid all year. He's had some very ugly at-bats; then
he'll come back with some solid at-bats. He's been a good player for us all
year."
On
the breakthrough in the sixth inning
"Throughout, all the way up to that point, we actually swung the
bats well. We just couldn't put the hits together, and they kept having
positive at-bats, kept fighting, and we were able to put them together."
On
the momentum swing after the loss yesterday and win today
"What we needed more than anything was the pitching performance
from Justin just to rest some guys. We knew going into this game that we've got
a long journey to get back into that championship game. We needed that type of
outing from Justin and he gave us exactly what we needed."
Sam
Houston State Starting Pitcher Justin Jackson
"We wanted to keep runners on base and keep pressure on them and make them make
pitches with people on base and eventually are hits started to fall through
with people on base and that's what we're trying to do."
On
the frustration of having so many hits early on and not scoring runs off them
"It is frustrating but we can't let it get to us; we just have to
go out there and grind it out with every at-bat and every pitch."
On
the team's effort in the field and on the mound
"We played great defense. We just made team plays and kept people off base and
made good pitches to win the ballgame. We played great defense all year long,
and played baseball the way it's supposed to be played: one pitch at a time."
"This was a momentum swing for us but we have a long road back but
we just have to take it one pitch at a time, one game at a time."
McNeese
State Coach Terry Burrows
"Tyler got out of some jams early, and we kind of forced him to do so, but they
put up a big five run inning that did us in. At the same time, Jackson threw
really well. That's the second time he's done that to us this year, and you've
got to tip your hat to him. They did a tremendous job. They're a great team,
and we wish them the best"
On the seniors and the team's performance
in general
"Those kids have been with me since I've been here, and I couldn't be prouder
of them. We truly only have five seniors. We have a really young team. To be
picked where we were (in the beginning of the year) and to finish where we did
in the conference, I'm proud of the way they went about things. We need to
build on it, move on, and get back in the tournament next year."