| Sophomore Michael Rockett went 3-for-4 on Friday night. |
NATCHITOCHES, La. ? Austin Boggs’ fielder’s choice with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth brought home the winning run and Sam Houston State ended UTSA’s season with a 5-4 come-from-behind victory on Friday night at the Southland Conference Tournament.
The Roadrunners finished the campaign with a 36-22 overall record, which is good for the third-most wins in school history, while the Bearkats improved to a perfect 3-0 in the tournament and 37-22 overall.
The game-winning rally got started when freshman Zach Calhoon (4-4) walked Clint Mann to start the ninth. Keith Stein followed with a sacrifice bunt that moved Mann to second base. Calhoon then intentionally walked Bobby Verbick and issued a free pass to Karl Krailo to load the bases.
UTSA head coach Sherman Corbett then called on Josh Blakley to face Austin Boggs.
Blakley, who threw three innings earlier in the day against Lamar, got ahead of Boggs 0-2 with a called strike and a foul ball. The Bearkats third baseman then fouled off three pitches in a row before delivering a high chopper to shortstop Marshal Davis. However, second baseman James Keithley’s relay throw to first got to junior Trent Lockwood well after Boggs stepped on the bag and Sam Houston State moved into Saturday’s championship game against Texas State.
SLC Pitcher of the Year Luke Prihoda (6-3) tossed the final three innings to earn the win for the Bearkats. Prihoda allowed just one hit and struck out three.
UTSA got things started in the second when they plated three runs on three hits.
A leadoff double by senior Ryan Saltzgaber ? playing in his first game since spraining his ankle in Wednesday’s tournament-opening win against Stephen F. Austin ? followed by a walk to junior Zach Etheredge and a single by senior Mitch Ponza loaded the bases with nobody out. Junior Phillip Allen then stroked Matt Fry’s first pitch to him to left center field and that cleared the bases.
Krailo drew the Bearkats within two with a two-out RBI single in the fifth, but the Roadrunners stretched the advantage to 4-1 on Davis’ RBI base hit to center the following inning.
However, Sam Houston State tied the game with a three-spot in the bottom of the sixth on five hits and the game remained tied at four until the final frame.
UTSA got a gutsy performance from senior Blake Brannon in the final start of his career. Pitching for the first time since April 29, the right-hander scattered eight hits over 4.2 innings (73 pitches) but allowed just one run while stranding five base runners.
Sophomore Michael Rockett was 3-for-4 to pace the Roadrunners offense and Etheredge scored a pair of runs.