STEPHENVILLE – The Tarleton Texans battled, but the Sam Houston Bearkats proved to be too much on Friday at the Tarleton Baseball Complex as the Texans dropped both games of the doubleheader.
Game 1: Sam Houston 12, Tarleton 4
Sam Houston (20-17, 11-5 WAC) went for 18 hits, with five Bearkats having multi-hit games, including Carlos Contreras’ five-hit performance. Matt Dillard (5-3) picked up the win for the Kats throwing 8.0 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, striking out nine.
Tarleton (13-24, 6-10 WAC) was led offensively by London Green, who had three hits including two home runs and two RBI. Kemuel Thomas-Rivera chipped in two hits, one a home run, and two RBI of his own.
Sam Houston struck first with two runs in the first inning off three hits. Tarleton responded in the bottom half with Green leading off with a solo home run to left field, his 11th of the season.
The teams were scoreless through the next three innings. Tarleton starting pitcher Luke Baley (1-4) was tagged with the loss as he pitched 1.0 inning, allowing the two runs. Zach Gagnon came on in relief and pitched the next 3.0 innings, allowing five hits but just one run while striking out two.
Sam Houston started to pull away in the fifth when they brought two runs across. They continued the momentum scoring one in the sixth, four in the seventh and three in the eighth to take a 12-1 lead.
The Texans did not respond until the eighth when they matched the Kats’ three runs. Green got it started with his 12th home run of the year, another solo blast to left field. That marked his third multi-home run game of the season. Corey Young pinch hit for Alec Williams and singled to center. That set up Thomas-Rivera to send a ball over the left field wall for a two-run home run, his sixth this season.
Beau Ross threw the final 2.0 frames allowing just one hit, striking out two.
Gavi Coldiron threw the ninth for the Kats, striking out two and inducing a flyout to secure the win.
Game 2: Sam Houston 15, Tarleton 5
Game two was eerily similar to the first. Sam Houston (21-17, 12-5 WAC) struck first again, with the Texans (13-25, 6-11 WAC) responding in the bottom half.
Bearkat starter Steven Beard (4-2) tossed a complete game, allowing five runs on nine hits to go with nine strikeouts.
Carlos Contreras carried over his hitting from game one for the Kats, this time adding four. He and Lane Brewster each tallied four hits as they were a part of the seven Kats with multi-hit games. They had 20 hits in game two.
Texan starter Jake Burcham (0-2) was given the loss as he pitched 4.0 innings, giving up six hits on nine runs.
Alec Williams hit a ball off the top of the right center field wall that rolled over for a solo home run, his eighth of the year, to make it 1-1 in the first. He and Colby Seltzer were the lone Texans to have at least two hits.
With the game knotted up at 1-1, Sam Houston went on a 5-1 run through the next three innings to make it 6-2.
Tarleton cut the lead to 6-3 in the sixth on an RBI fielder’s choice from Kemuel Thomas-Rivera. The Bearkats stepped on the gas once again, plating three more in the seventh on four hits to make it 9-3. They piled on six more in the ninth, putting the game away.
Tarleton added two runs in the ninth as Taylor Daniell singled in Thomas-Rivera and Colby Seltzer hit a sacrifice fly to left field.
Zane Badmaev tossed 2.1 innings of relief, allowing two runs on three hits, striking out two.
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