Matt Shelton is only a sophomore, but he has already become somewhat of a legend at Sam Houston State.

In the Southland Conference tournament championship game for the third straight year last Saturday, the Bearkats needed someone to come in and eat up some innings after senior starter Jacob Howard held top-seeded Texas State to one run in the first three innings.

Despite pitching 3 2/3 scoreless innings to close out Sam Houston’s 8-6 victory over Texas-San Antonio two nights earlier, Bearkats head coach Mark Johnson decided to bring in Shelton to see if the right-handed closer could toss a couple of frames before going deeper into the bullpen.

But Shelton did more than that. He completely shutdown the Bobcats’ potent offense, which had outscored its previous three opponents 32-5. Shelton pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings, scattering four hits and striking out eight to help lift seventh-seeded Sam Houston State to a 7-1 victory.

“He was unbelievable in that title game,” said Johnson, whose Bearkats squad plays Rice in the Houston Regional today at Reckling Park. “He truly was instrumental in our championship run. We only planned to use him for a couple of innings, but he got in a groove and was just fantastic.”

Shelton made an immediate impact when he entered the championship game in the top of the fourth inning. After Howard walked the leadoff batter, Shelton induced a 5-4-3 double play then got the next hitter to fly out to center to preserve a 2-1 lead.

Shelton quickly set the Bobcats down in order in the fifth, then the worst thing that could have happened, did. Rain forced a 46 minute delay in the bottom half of the inning with the Bearkats batting with two outs.

With Shelton dealing on the mound, the question was if he could come back out and have the same success before the delay? He answered that in a hurry when he struck out the side in the sixth after hitting the leadoff man.

“I was just hoping that I wouldn’t lose my adrenaline during the delay, so I went and threw in the batting cage,” Shelton said Thursday afternoon. “I had a jacket on and it was 100 degrees outside. I just wanted to be able to pitch as well as I was.

“After the first pitch, I hit the guy and was thinking ‘Oh man, this isn’t going to be good.’ But I turned it around and had a blast.”

That’s when the legend was born. Shelton continued his gritty performance until finally running into trouble in the ninth. He struck out two of the first three batters, before Texas State loaded the bases with a pair of singles.

Johnson wanted Shelton to finish his gem, but with Sam Houston’s third straight NCAA regional appearance on the line, he didn’t want to risk it and brought in reliever Ryan Tepera, who ended it with a strikeout.

Still, the story of the tournament was Shelton, who earned two victories in relief. The longest outing he had pitched all season before the SLC tournament was 3 2/3 innings against McNeese State on April 3. But he managed to toss 9 1/3 scoreless frames with only a day between appearances on the way to being named the Southland Conference tournament most valuable player.

“It was such a blast to go to that tournament and do as well as I did and throw for so long,” said Shelton, who is 7-0 with a 1.86 ERA and two saves. “For my arm to feel that good after throwing 3 2/3, having a days rest and then trying to go out and throw 77 pitches was miraculous.

“I’m really excited about this regional as well and we want to hurry up and get there.”

The bullpen carried the Bearkats’ pitching staff for most of the season, but during the stretch run, the starters took over. Freshman Sean Weatherford, Howard and sophomore Brent Powers combined to throw five complete games in the final few weeks of the regular season to keep the relievers well rested.

Weatherford also went the distance in Sam Houston State’s 9-2 victory over Southeastern Louisiana in the opening round of the tournament, which set the stage for title run.

“Early in the season we tried to use Matt for only one or two innings a week because he had a long recovery time,” Johnson said. “We decided to move him into the closer role when we moved Weatherford into the starting rotation. This last month we started using him more because we were getting those complete games and Matt was well rested.

“He told us his arm was feeling good after the UTSA game, so we decided to go with him against Texas State. His performance was classic.”

Armed with a wicked slider because he can’t throw a curveball due to the fact he is double-jointed in his right elbow, Shelton is the latest weapon to emerge out of the Bearkats’ arsenal.

With reliable starters, a solid bullpen and a dangerous offense, Sam Houston State is hoping to make a little noise this weekend in Houston.

“We need to have our starters go as long as they can because when it comes to tournaments your bullpen needs to be as fresh as possible,” Shelton said. “That and it takes so much pressure of us knowing that we can make a mistake and the offense is going to be there to back us.

“We always feel like we can win any ballgame.”



Houston Regional Glance



No. 1 Rice

Record: 39-15

Head coach: Wayne Graham, 18th season

National ranking: The Owls are ranked No. 6

NCAA regional appearances: 15

How the Owls got here: Rice beat Southern Miss 8-6 in the championship game of the Conference USA tournament last weekend to earn the league’s automatic berth.

Players to watch: Third baseman Anthony Rendon (.375, 19 home runs and 64 RBIs), second baseman Brock Holt (.344, 10 HRs and 38 RBIs), shortstop Rick Hague (.320, nine HRs and 51 RBIs), right fielder Chad Mozingo (.321, eight HRs and 46 RBIs) and pitchers Ryan Berry (7-0, 1.89 ERA), Mike Ojala (4-0, 1.79 ERA) and Taylor Wall (6-5, 3.81 ERA).

Owl notes: Rice is making its 15th-consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament, the fourth-longest active streak in Division I. Miami has the longest active streak at 37, followed by Florida State (32) and Cal State Fullerton (18). ... Since hosting its first one in 2001, Rice’s record when playing at home in the NCAA regionals at Reckling Park is 22-4. The Owls have a streak of nine-straight wins at home regionals dating back to 2004. ... Rice is 9-3 in games against nationally-ranked opponents. ... The Owls have played 20 games against 10 different teams in this year’s NCAA tournament and is 12-8 against almost 1/6 of the 64-team field.



No. 2 Kansas State

Record: 41-16-1

Head coach: Brad Hill, sixth season

National ranking: The Wildcats are ranked No. 14

NCAA tournament appearances: one

How the Wildcats got here: Kansas State finished fourth in the Big 12 this season and received an at-large berth.

Players to watch: Pitcher A.J. Morris (13-1, 1.84 ERA), second baseman Carter Jurica (.362, 14 doubles and 44 RBIs), first baseman Justin Bloxom (.349, nine HRs and 54 RBIs), shortstop Drew Biery (.335, nine HRs and 44 RBIs) and right fielder Jordan Cruz (.318, 10 HRs and 46 RBIs).

Wildcat notes: Kansas State is making its first-ever NCAA regional appearance. The Wildcats have tallied 41 wins this season, the most in school history, while its 11 series wins were also a school-best. ... K-State is hitting 58 points higher in 58 games in 2009 (.319) compared to 2008 (.261). It has been a rarity for the Wildcats to tally less than 10 hits this season as they have reached the double-digit hit total on 40 occasions in its 58 games.



No. 3 Xavier

Record: 38-19

Head coach: Scott Googins, fourth season

Nation ranking: N/A

NCAA tournament appearances: one

How the Musketeers got here: Xavier beat Rhode Island 10-1 to win the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament and earn the league’s automatic berth.

Players to watch: First baseman Ben Thomas (.355, 16 HRs and 64 RBIs), designated hitter Zac Richard (.353, eight doubles and 22 RBIs), catcher Billy O’Conner (.335, nine doubles and 38 RBIs), center fielder Adam Pasono (.314, seven HRs and 37 RBIs) and pitchers Danny Rosenbaum ( 5-5, 5.49 ERA) and Jordan Conley (13 saves, 2.39 ERA).

Musketeer notes: Xavier won five straight games out of the loser’s bracket at the A-10 tournament to claim the school’s first-ever NCAA regional berth. ... The Musketeers’ 38 wins this season are a school record. The previous best was 32 in 1987 and 1997. Xavier had 15 nonconference victories this season which more than doubled its 2008 total (six).



No. 4 Sam Houston State

Record: 36-22

Head coach: Mark Johnson, third season

National ranking: N/A

NCAA tournament appearances: six

How the Bearkats got here: Sam Houston State won its third straight Southland Conference tournament title by beating Texas State 7-1 in the championship game to earn the league’s automatic berth.

Players to watch: Left fielder Nick Zaleski (.425, nine HRs and 57 RBIs), second baseman Braeden Riley (.390, 108 hits and 38 RBIs), right fielder Tyler Knight (.341, seven HRs and 54 RBIs), catcher Mark Wyatt (.332, 14 HRs and 54 RBIs) and pitchers Sean Weatherford (8-5, 3.62 ERA), Brent Powers (3-2, 4.28 ERA) and Matt Shelton (7-0, 1.86 ERA).

Bearkat notes: Sam Houston has earned a berth in the NCAA regionals for the sixth time in school history and the third year in a row. Moving up to NCAA Division I status in 1986-87, the Bearkats played in baseball regionals in Austin in 1987, 1989 and 1996; in Oxford, Miss., in 2007 and in Houston last year. ... SHSU’s best NCAA regional performance came in 2007 at Ole Miss when the Bearkats posted come-from-behind victories over Troy (5-4) and Southern Mississippi (12-11 in 11 innings) to reach the finals before falling to Mississippi. SHSU stands 5-10 in NCAA regional action, defeating Oklahoma and Indiana State in 1987 and upsetting No. 2 Miami 5-4 in the first round of the 1996 regional.