The Bearkats traveled to Dallas Baptist University last weekend, and despite getting off to a slow start, they ended the weekend on a positive note.
The first game of the three game series on Friday resulted in a substantial Bearkat loss 15-7. The team then played a doubleheader on Saturday, where SHSU won both games by scores of 6-3 and 11-7
On Friday, the Bearkats did not seem to have it together. They finished the game with 10 hits for seven runs, but the Patriots turned 15 hits into 15 runs.
Jordan Tata started the game on the mound for the Bearkats. He was pulled at the beginning of the fourth inning after giving up 10 hits and nine runs.
“I didn’t have my best stuff, and Dallas Baptist is a good team,” Tata said. “I threw a lot of strikes, but I left a lot of balls over the plate. I just need to work on hitting my spots better.”
Brandon Foster got two hits and two runs in three at bats and Lou Ferrell got a home run and a double in four at bats, but with nothing else there, they fell to the Patriots 15-7.
Things turned around for SHSU on Saturday.
In the first game, the two sides agreed to a seven-inning game in the interest of time, with a nine-inning game following.
In the first game, Caleb Rodgers came in and pitched a solid 5 2/3 innings, giving up only seven hits and three runs. After Rodgers had done his part, reliever Nathan Osterman came in and shut out the Patriots for the remainder of the ballgame, to carry the Bearkats to a 6-3 victory.
“We decided that we were going to have to take advantage of their mistakes,” Tata said. “We needed to come out early and play like we know we can, and that’s what we did on Saturday. They made a couple of errors and we turned it around on them.”
Third baseman Jonathan Stone got his only hit of the game by blasting a three-run homerun. Foster hit it big again, going three for four and scoring one run. Jeremy Locke did not get a hit, but did manage to score two runs after being walked twice.
The Bearkats did a tremendous job in taking advantage of Patriot mistakes. The team combined for only five hits, but they were able to turn that into six runs.
The next game Saturday started off with Phillip Gougler on the mound, but it would be Osterman who came away with the win in an 11-7 game.
The Bearkats, thanks to phenomenal hitting, were able to score early, leading the game 7-2 at the end of three innings. However in the next two innings, the Patriots were able to drive in five runs to even the score at seven.
When the Patriots tied the score at the beginning of the fifth inning, Bearkat coach Chris Rupp brought in Osterman. Osterman proceeded to pitch a near-perfect five innings, allowing only two hits from 18 batters.
No Bearkat was able to hit a homerun, but SHSU relied on extra-base hits to come out of Saturday’s game. Ferrell tripled and Jeremy Holzbach, Andrew Kasparek, Andrew Anders and Phillip Weaver all doubled.
“We had a lot of confidence going into the last game,” Tata said. “We got a win under our belt and started realizing that this is the type of team we are and it all just kind of came together for us.”
The weekend brings the Bearkat record to 7-9.
