HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Facing a 5-0 deficit, HBU scored twice in the seventh and three runs in the eighth, but Sam Houston State evened the series with a two-run, walkoff home run in the ninth for a 7-5 victory in Southland Conference baseball Saturday afternoon at Don Sanders Stadium.
Junior designated hitter
Jake Scott homered, drove in two and scored twice, while junior
Grant Buck doubled and drove in three for the Huskies (23-27, 15-11 SLC). Senior leftfielder
Spencer Halloran went 2-for-5 and scored a run.
Senior lefthander
Matthew McCollough (7-3) went the distance and took the loss, allowing seven runs on 10 hits with nine strikeouts and no walks in eight innings.
Andrew Fregia went 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, three RBIs and scored, while Blake Chisolm doubled twice and scored twice for the Bearkats (34-17, 20-6). Riley McKnight went 2-for-4 and scored twice and Clayton Harp homered and drove in a pair.
Dakota Mills (3-1) picked up the win in relief, but allowed three runs on three hits with six strikeouts and two walks in 2.1 innings. SHSU starter Seth Ballew took a no-decision, giving up two runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and three walks in 6.2 innings.
McKnight led off the third with a single, went to second on a sacrifice bunt, then Chisolm doubled. After Mac Odom reached on a fielder's choice and drove in the first run, Fegia followed with a two-run triple and Grisham had an RBI single to make the score 4-0.
Chisolm also doubled in the fifth and came home on a sacrifice fly by Fregia.
The Huskies got on the board in the seventh, when Scott blasted a two-run home run to leftcenter, his third of the season, to cut the deficit to 5-2.
Scott and sophomore third baseman
Elijah Simon drew back-to-back walks to load the bases with two outs in the eighth, then Buck delivered a bases-clearing double to the leftcenterfield gap to tie the game, 5-5.
McKnight led off the bottom of the ninth with a single and Harp followed with a home run just over the rightfield wall for the game-winner.
The series concludes with a 1 p.m. first pitch Sunday and can be heared on the Legacy Sports Network audio broadcast with
Russ Reneau, beginning with the pregame show at 12:50 p.m. and available on HBUHuskies.com.
