By Cody Stark
Sam Houston State took batting practice Wednesday afternoon to the tune of 47 hits in a pair of run-rule victories over Houston Baptist in a nonconference doubleheader at Don Sanders Stadium.
The Bearkats used a nine-run second inning and an eight-run fourth to down the Huskies 22-12 in eight innings in the opener as catcher Mark Wyatt hit a pair of home runs. Sam Houston then scored seven runs in the bottom of sixth to topple Houston Baptist 18-6 in the nightcap.
Justin Keithley totaled seven hits on the day and drove in eight runs. Ryan Mooney collected six hits, including a grand slam in game two, to finish with seven RBIs as the Bearkats (28-13) stretched their current winning streak to 10 games.
“We did very, very well offensively,” SHSU head coach Mark Johnson said. “We played a lot of different guys and everybody got to play tonight. That part is good from a coach’s standpoint. We had guys in different positions and had guys pitching that haven’t thrown much. It got a little sloppy and long, but we hit the ball well.”
The Kats jumped out to a 9-0 lead in game one thanks to a big second inning. Daniel Nottebart got the scoring going with a two-run single. Keithley and Braeden Riley each hit RBI singles and Wyatt capped the frame with a two-run shot to left-center field.
Sam Houston increased its lead to 17-2 in the fourth. Wyatt got the frame going with a three-run blast to center. Tyler Lundy added a run-scoring double. Keithley drove in two with a double and Riley hit an RBI single. The final run came on a fielder’s choice by Jon Reed.
Dallas Gallant and Justin Jackson, who improved to 3-0, held the Huskies (8-28) to only two runs through six innings. But in the top of the seventh, relievers Spencer Parish and Nicholas Daniels combined to give up 10 runs off nine hits to prolong the game another inning.
The Bearkats then scored one in the bottom of the frame and got a walk-off two-run double by Mooney in the eighth to end it.
“When you have a 19-2 lead in the first game, you think how this is going to be a seven-inning game,” Johnson added. “It didn’t turn out that way, but they hit the ball in some key spots and we got to let some guys pitch that haven’t been able to. We did keep scoring, so it was a good offensive day.”
Sam Houston once again jumped on Houston Baptist early in the nightcap. Mooney put the Kats up 4-0 in the first inning with a grand slam off the scoreboard in left field.
Backup catcher and former Huntsville standout Brandon Yates scored on a triple by Keithley to start the second. Riley, Tyler Knight, Peter Goudeau and Adam DeLaGarza also drove in runs to push the lead to 10-0.
Junior Ryan Tepera (2-1) got the start on the mound and gave up two runs in 2 2/3 innings to notch the win. Sophomore Cody Springer gave up a three-run homer in the third, but pitched the final 4 1/3 innings to earn the save.
The Bearkats scored seven runs in the bottom of the sixth to go up 18-6. DeLaGarza, Yates, Keithley, Nick Zaleski and Mooney all drove in runs in the frame and Springer pitched a 1-2-3 seventh to seal it.
Sam Houston State returns to action Friday when the Bearkats host Southeastern Louisiana in the opener of a three-game Southland Conference series at 6:30 p.m.
“This game served its purposes,” Johnson added. “If I would have had my choice I wouldn’t have wanted to do it right in front of a big conference weekend and right after a big win over Baylor. But on a whole I thought we came out well. I told them it was a work day and we got lots of work in.”
