Shockers let eight-run lead vanish, lose to Sam Houston State 15-11

Wichita State baseball let two leads get away in a 15-11 loss to Sam Houston State on Friday at Eck Stadium.

The Shockers led 9-1 going into the sixth inning, but the Bearkats rallied, scoring six runs in the inning to cut their deficit to two. Wichita State grabbed a run in the bottom of the inning to extend the lead back to three. Sam Houston State scored one run in the seventh and two more in the eighth inning – both on passed balls – to tie the game 10-10.

Ryan Tinkham homered in the bottom of the eighth to reclaim the lead for the Shockers.

WSU reliever John Hayes, who entered in the eighth inning, couldn’t close out the game. He allowed a leadoff double in the ninth then walked the next two batters. Clayton McGinness replaced Hayes and gave up a two-run double to Fregia that put Sam Houston State ahead 12-11. Chase Williams retired the first batter he faced on a groundout, but the next two hitters reached on fielder’s choice plays and two runs scored. Reagan Biechler replaced Williams and allowed a run-scoring single after an errant pickoff throw moved runners up a base.

“We got a bunch of scrappers, that’s pretty much our M.O.,” Sam Houston State coach Matt Deggs said. “… they’re pretty much impervious to the scoreboards most of the time. They’re just going to keep fighting and chip away.”

The Bearkats outscored the Shockers 14-2 in the final four innings.

“To get beat 15-11, with a 9-1 lead in the sixth inning just shows we’ve got a lot of work to do in the bullpen,” WSU coach Todd Butler said.

WSU starter Sam Tewes threw 5 1/3 innings, striking out eight and not allowing a walk. He gave up one run in the first five innings, but was charged with five of the six runs that scored in the sixth.

Wichita State had six players with at least two hits, including three-hit performances by the eight and nine hitters in the lineup, Dayton Dugas and Trey Vickers. Dugas and Luke Ritter each homered.

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This story was originally published March 4, 2016 at 8:21 PM with the headline "Shockers let eight-run lead vanish, lose to Sam Houston State 15-11."