ABILENE – The Sam Houston Bearkats opened up an early lead and never let it go, taking the series opener from Abilene Christian, 12-8, on Friday night at Crutcher Scott Field.
The Kats (17-13, 8-5 WAC) slammed four home runs in the game, including back-to-back shots by
Carlos Contreras and
Walker Janek in the opening inning to stake itself to the early advantage and scored at least once in each of the first six frames.
Contreras and
Clayton Chadwick each finished with three hits apiece, while
Trent Touchet and
Easton Loyd also homered in the second and third innings, respectively.
The Kats also got five strong innings from
Steven Beard who moved to 3-2 on the win, punching out five hitters before
Logan Hewitt and
Lance Lusk delivered two innings of relief apiece. In all, the Bearkat pitching staff punched out 11 Wildcat hitters for the game.
ACU starter Tyler Morgan suffered his first loss of the season after allowing 10 runs – eight earned – in just 4.0 innings of work.
Sam Houston and Abilene Christian will play again on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. on the Wildcats' home field. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. and will be aired on the WAC Digital Network.
