The Sam Houston State University Bearkats suffered their first loss of the season Tuesday to the bats of the Texas A&M Aggies in front of a record-setting crowd of 1,253 on Valentines Day. The Bearkats nerves got to them during the first inning, as junior starting pitcher Matt Heinrich balked twice and shortstop Gregory O’Neill committed a costly two-out error that brought home an Aggie run. Heinrich balked two more times over the next two innings with a final line of 2.2 innings pitched, seven hits and four earned runs. Luke Prihoda was the first relief pitcher of the evening and allowed one earned run on three hits in 1.1 innings. In the final five innings, SHSU pitchers Zach Golden and Zach Adkisson combined to hold the Aggies scoreless on two hits, one walk and three strikeouts.However, SHSU would not score a single run until the sixth inning as the Aggies maintained a 7-0 lead despite the brilliant relief work of the Bearkats. Just when things were starting to look bleak, junior catcher Karl Krailo hit a solo homerun and put the first run on the board for the Bearkats. SHSU scored again in the eighth inning when senior right fielder Dustin Martin hit a three-run shot over the wall between center and left field, only one swing after fouling another long ball over left field. With the three runs scored off Martin’s bomb, the Bearkats brought the score to 7-4. Former Bearkat transfer Jose Salazar went 4-for-5 with two doubles and three runs scored. Chance Corgan (1-0) picked up the win for the Aggies, completing five shutout innings.
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