SHSU Softball At Lake Charles

Posted: Thu 10:25 AM, Apr 12, 2012

Like their baseball counterparts, the Sam Houston State softball team has a streak of its own going.

After a 1-13 start to the season that pitted the Bearkats against such nationally ranked opponents as Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and Houston, the SHSU softball team has bounced back to win 16 of their last 19 games.

Predicted to finish seventh in the Southland Conference Head Coaches' 2012 preseason poll, Sam Houston enters the fourth weekend of the season in third place with a 7-3 league mark.

The Bearkats swept league series with Nicholls State, Northwestern State and a split on the road with Central Arkansas.

"The team has done a good job of not worrying about the record and taking things one game at a time," Sam Houston head coach Bob Brock said. "We've played pretty steady. We're really hitting the ball well this year and we're getting some good pitching."

The 16 victories in the last 19 games also has put the head coach in a position to make history. Brock now stands two wins away from becoming only the 22nd head coach in NCAA Division I history to earn 1,000 softball coaching victories.

In 27 years, Brock has compiled a record of 998 wins, 602 losses and one tie coaching at Sam Houston , Texas A&M and Baylor.

The softball team faces a tough challenge this weekend as the Bearkats travel to Lake Charles, La., to face Southland Conference leader McNeese State.

The Kats and the Cowgirls square off in a pair of single games - the first at 6 p.m. on Friday and the second Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Cowgirls are 7-1 in league action and own a 24-10 overall record. McNeese State has swept three teams this year (UT-Arlington, UTSA and Nicholls) and split with Southeastern Louisiana.

One reason for the Cowgirls' success will be in the pitching circle for McNeese this weekend. Meagan Bond owns a 14-6 record and has tossed four shutouts this year. She was Southland "Pitcher of the Week" this Monday.

Sam Houston counters with a lineup that ranks fourth in the Southland with a .272 team batting average. First baseman Kim Damian (.374) and center fielder Tori Benavidez (.354) stand fifth and 13th in the league in hitting.

"We're excited about our team," Brock said. "Everybody in our lineup seems to be picking up some slack and that's when good things happen."

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