SUGAR LAND, Texas – Senior catcher
Jake Pulcheon's three-run home run tied the game, then two batters later, junior designated hitter
Jake Scott's solo homer gave HBU the lead as the Huskies eliminated top-seeded Sam Houston State, 6-4, Friday afternoon at Constellation Field.
Senior shortstop
Tyler Depreta-Johnson went 2-for-5 with a home run, a double, two RBIs, while Pulcheon went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs for HBU (28-29).
Senior righthander
Marshall Herron (3-3) hurled 4.2 scoreless inning in relief, allowing three hits, striking out three and walking two. Junior righthander
JT Newton earned his fifth save of the season, tossing two scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out one. Junior starter
Brady Batten allowed four runs on three hits with one strikeout and four walks in 2.1 innings.
Riley McKnight went 2-for-3 with a triple, three RBIs and scored, while Jaxxon Grisham wnet 2-for-3 with a double for SHSU (39-20).
Nick Mikolajchak (6-6) took the loss, giving up one run in 1.2 innings. Starter Riley Gossett allowed four runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and a walk in 5.1 innings and Dakota Mills allowed one run on two hits in two innings.
Depreta-Johnson led off the game with a home run to left for his fifth of the season.
Jack Rogers reached on an infield single in the bottom of the second for the Bearkats, then Batten walked Ben Haefner and Gavin Johnson to load the bases. McKnight cleared the bases with a triple, then scored on a single by Blake Chisolm to put SHSU ahead, 4-1.
In the sixth, senior leftfielder
Spencer Halloran doubled, then senior rightfielder
Matt Heck followed with a single, before Pulcheon blasted a monster three-run shot to left to tie the game. Gossett was lifted, then Brad Demco hit the only batter he faced,
Grant Buck, with a pitch. After Scott swung and missed on a hit-and-run and Buck was thrown out at second, Scott ripped a solo home run left to give HBU a 5-4 lead.
Herron hit the first two batters he faced in the eighth, then Newton took over. Jordan Cannon laid down a sacrifice bunt, but HBU got the force out at second to put runners on the corners with one out. McKnight then grounded into a double play to end the threat.
The Huskies added an insurance run in the ninth
Newton struck out Chisolm to lead off the bottom of the ninth, but Grisham singled to right. Andrew Fregia flied out to center for the second out and Clayton Harp hit a fly ball to left that should have ended the game, but Halloran lost it in the sun and there were runners on the corners. Newton shook it off and got Rogers to ground out to second to end the game.
The Huskies will face No. 8 seed New Orleans tonight at approximately 8 p.m. Should HBU win that game, the two teams would face each other again Saturday for the right to go to the championship later that evening at 6 p.m.
