MESA, Ariz. — Sam Houston couldn't generate much at the plate in a 3-2 loss to Sacramento State in a WAC Tournament elimination game at Hohokam Stadium on Thursday.
The Bearkats fell behind 3-0 early with the Hornets scoring runs in the second, third and fourth innings.
Sam Houston began chipping away at the lead in the bottom of the fourth when
Clayton Chadwick and
Justin Wishkoski hit back-to-back singles to begin the frame.
A fly ball to center by
Carlos Contreras moved the runners over, and
Easton Loyd brought in the first run with sacrifice fly to center field. Wishkoski scored on a wild pitch to cut the lead to 3-2.
That was all the offense the Bearkats could muster as a solo home run by Sacramento State in the fourth proved to be the difference.
Lance Lusk was outstanding in relief of starter
Steven Beard, holding the Hornets right where they were with 5.0 innings of scoreless relief. Beard struck out three, but allowed all three Sac State runs to drop his record to 6-4.
The Kats had a chance in the sixth to take the lead when Wishkoski and Contreras both reached to start the inning; however, the Kats could not bunt them over and then caught a stroke of bad luck when Loyd hit a scorched liner into the leaping glove of Hornet second baseman Josh Rolling for a double play that ended the Kats' final threat of the day.
Sam Houston closes out its first year in the WAC with an outright Southwest Division title, its third regular-season title since 2018 and finished with a 31-25 record. It is the 11th straight winning season for the Kats, all with 30 or more wins, having not posted a sub-.500 record since 2010.
