The Sulphur Tors held a 3-2 lead after one and half innings but the Sam Houston Broncos took advantage of seven Tor errors to win 10-4 to open the Iowa/Sam Houston Invitational Thursday in Moss Bluff.
“We are hitting the ball consistently right now which I am real pleased with,” Sulphur head coach Ron Riley said. “We are starting to find some gaps but obviously the biggest disappointment is seven errors.
“You give any body seven errors and you can’t expect to win a ball game. It just took us completely out of the ball game.”
The Tors (5-2) started off strong with Evan Harris leading the game off with a single to left field and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by JT Chargois. Keith Lemelle then hit a single to center field to score Harris and give the Tors a 1-0 lead.
Sam Houston (5-1) scored a run on an error and another on a two-out RBI single by Evan Powell in the bottom of the first but the Tors responded with a pair of runs in the top second inning.
Grant Cox walked Dillon Carroll to start off the second inning and catcher Logan Lejeune ripped a double to the center field wall. Charlie LeBoeuf hit an RBI single to left and Austin Shepherd followed up with a sacrifice fly to right field to score Phillip Boyette who was pinch running for Lejeune and give the Tors a 3-2 lead.
Sulphur’s bats went quiet after that and defensive mistakes started to take their toll.
Sam Houston used three hits and three Sulphur errors in the bottom of the second inning to take an 8-3 that they would not relinquish.
Two walks and an error loaded the bases for Sam Houston’s Tyler Theriot who responded with a single to left field to score two runs. Powell hit his second RBI single of the game with one out and Cox hit a two RBI double before the Tors turned the first of two double plays in the game to get out of the inning.
First baseman Keith Lemelle completed an unassisted double play in the fifth inning when he caught a low line drive by Skylar Barrentine and tagged first base to catch Andrew Lafosse off the bag.
Nick Gorum started on the mound for the Tors and went one and one-third innings before being relieved by Troy Scott with one out in the second. Gorum took the loss allowing four runs on four hits.
Scott pitched the next one and two-third innings allowing two hits and two runs and striking out one.
Lauren Saucier entered the game for the Tors in the fourth inning and held the Broncos to just two runs on two hits in three innings of work but the Tors could not get their offense going.
“He did a good job,” Riley said. “That was his first outing and I was very pleased with Lauren.
“He will get some more opportunities.”
After getting four hits in the first two innings, the Tors did not get a hit again until the seventh inning when Charlie LeBoeuf lead off with a double to right-center field for his second hit of the day. Chargois hit an RBI single to right to make it 10-4 but that would be as close as the Tors would get.
Cox picked of the complete game victory for the Broncos allowing four runs on six hits and striking out three.
Cox also went 2-for-2 at the plate with a pair of RBIs and Powell went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Sulphur will play at 5:15 p.m. today take against Westlake at Iowa High School and the Broncos will take on Notre Dame at 5:15 p.m. in Moss Bluff.
Note: It was the third time the Tors have faced the Broncos this season. Sam Houston won the season opener for both teams 12-1 in five innings and 14-4 in a preseason scrimmage. The two teams will face off one more time this season in the Golden Tor Invitational in two weeks.
Moss Bluff, La. —
