Stephen F. Austin
Sam Houston State
SFA Suffers 5-2 Loss To Bearkats In League Opener
3/10/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 10, 2012
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin baseball team dropped a 5-2 decision, being held to just four hits, in the Southland Conference opener against the Sam Houston State Bearkats Friday night at the Don Sanders Ballpark.
Justin Choate (0-3) tied a season-high, tossing six innings for the second time in his second career start as a Lumberjack. The junior college transfer was tagged with the loss after surrendering four runs (all earned) off of ten hits from the Bearkats. The Hooks native fanned four and walked none in the conference opener.
SFA (5-9, 0-1 SLC) who was outhit 11-4 by Sam Houston (8-5, 1-0 SLC) failed to record an extra base hit for the second time this season. Four different Lumberjacks - Hunter Dozier, Freddy Villalobos, Bryce Cummings and Ricardo Sanchez - recorded a single in the loss. The last time SFA failed to record an extra base hit was in the season opener against Portland (2/17).
The Bearkats took advantage of a six-hit second to jump out 4-0 lead early in the game. Jake Arrington homered to left field two batters into the inning to score Anthony Azar, who leadoff with an infield single, and put Sam Houston up 2-0 with no outs. Four batters later, with runners on first and third, Luke Plucheck singled up the middle to add two more.
The `Jacks would one of their own in the top of the next frame to cut the Bearkat lead to three. Dozier delivered one of the two SFA RBIs, scoring Cummings on a single to left field. Cummings reached base with a single to right-center before advancing to second a wild pitch.
Choate would not allow another run across his final four innings. The Bearkats reclaimed the four-run lead in the seventh, putting across an unearned run in the inning of relief from Reid Landers. With two outs and runners at the corners, a sac fly from Azar plated Colt Atwood to put Sam Houston up 5-1.
After just two hits through the first eight frames, both coming in the second inning, the `Jacks doubled the offensive output using a pair of singles to push across one run in the top of the ninth. Villalobos issued the final RBI for SFA, scoring Sanchez on a single up the middle. Sanchez reached base on a single through the left side before advancing around to third on a stolen base and error by Sam Houston's catcher.
SFA will look to even the series against the Bearkats Saturday at 4:00 p.m. The `Jacks will pit Colton Eubanks against Justin Jackson in game two between SFA and Sam Houston at the Don Sanders Ballpark.
-SFA-
