The Sam Houston Bearkat softball team ended their three-game winning streak on Tuesday with a 7-3 defeat at the hands of No. 24 ranked Baylor University Bears.
Coming into the matchup, the Bears had the overall matchup advantage at 50 wins and 30 losses between the Bearkats and Bears, with the last matchup between the two ending in a 7-0 victory for Baylor back on Feb. 15, 2019.
Sam Houston would get all of their runs in the first two innings of the ballgame.
Bearkats head coach Garrett Valis was impressed with how his team performed in the game, especially in the beginning.
“That’s something we’ve been working on is trying to start faster in games,” Valis said. “Unfortunately [Baylor] were able to take advantage of some stuff early and put a couple of good swings on some pitches. I thought that Bachmeyer did well to respond and work out of that and limit the damage and come out to have a good second inning. We were able to get some runs on the board which allowed us to feel like we had a good shot to compete in the game.”
On the pitching side of things, the Bearkats starting freshman pitcher Taylor Bachmeyer would struggle in her two innings of work. Bachmeyer would allow four runs – all earned – on four hits, one walk and no strikeouts in the 12 batters she faced in the game.
Defensively for Sam Houston, freshman shortstop Emily Telg would be responsible for the first six outs recorded in the ballgame and the first seven of nine outs, whether it be by groundout or by popup.
The Bearkats would compile three runs on five hits and one error in the game for their scoreline. Sophomore third baseman Kyndal Kutac, despite only getting one hit in the game, would drive in two runs with a two-out, two-RBI single in the first inning, which at the time brought the score to 3-2.
“I feel like I came out really strong,” Kutac said. “I think I was able to put the ball in play well. We had runners in scoring positions with two outs, sometimes it’s a little nerve racking up in the box because a ground out will not move them. But I feel like we played really strong as a team as well. Just wish I could have put the ball in play a little bit more in those last at-bats.”
Up next for the Bearkats is a trip to the University of Central Arkansas as Sam Houston will resume conference play at 5:00 p.m. this Friday at Conway, Arkansas, as the Bearkats take on the Sugar Bears and look to continue building upon their 4-2 start in conference play.
