· Box score
EDINBURG – Jeremy Holzbach’s one-out single in the seventh broke a 1-1 tie and sent Sam Houston State to a 3-1 victory against UTSA on Saturday at the Al Ogletree Classic. The Roadrunners, winners of their previous three games, saw their record fall to 4-8, while the Bearkats improved to 9-6.
After Heath Pugh grounded out to short to start the seventh, Todd Sebek and Austin Boggs followed with back-to-back singles off UTSA starter Bradley Chovanec. The pair then moved up 90 feet on a successful double steal and that set the stage for Holzbach’s heroics. The senior center fielder took Chovanec’s 2-1 offering to right center and put Sam Houston State in the lead for good.
UTSA threatened in the eighth by getting runners on second and third with two down, but Bearkats closer Luke Prihoda struck out sophomore Michael Rockett looking to end the rally. Prihoda, who relieved starter Jesse Marshall with one out in the eighth, pitched a scoreless ninth to collect his fourth save of the season.
Marshall (3-1) allowed just one run on five hits and struck out four in 7.1 innings for his third victory of the year.
Chovanec (0-2) was the hard-luck loser. The junior right-hander turned in his first quality start of the season by allowing three runs and six hits and just one walk in 6.1 innings of work. He struck out five, four of which were called third strikes. Senior Josh Blakley tossed a scoreless 1.2 innings in relief of Chovanec.
Sam Houston State jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when Keith Stein stroked a one-out single to left and moved to second on Bobby Verbick’s ground out to third. After an intentional walk to Karl Krailo put runners on first and second with two outs, Heath Pugh hit a sinking liner just out of the reach of center fielder Michael Rockett that brought Stein across the plate.
The Roadrunners tied it up in the fifth when Sam Houston State committed two costly errors. Redshirt freshman Tim Palincsar led off with a sharp single through the left side and advanced to second when Bearkats starting pitcher Jesse Marshall threw wide to first on a failed pick off attempt. He then moved to third on a wild pitch and came home on junior Zach Etheredge’s mishandled grounder to shortstop.
Palincsar was 3-for-4 to pace the UTSA offense, while lead off hitter Marshal Davis walked two times.
The Roadrunners conclude their three days in the Valley when they face tournament host Texas Pan-American (5-12) on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Edinburg Stadium.
