Rodrick Anderson

SULPHUR — Senior right-hander Alex Norris controlled the game from the first pitch Saturday, throwing a one-hitter in a 6-0 District 3-5A win over Sulphur at McMurry Park.

Norris had a no-hitter going into the seventh inning before Walker Bridges led off with a single to right field. But Norris finished strong with two ground outs and a pop-up.

Norris got into a bind in the third and fourth innings after four walks and a hit batsman, but that was it. He finished with four strikeouts in his first complete game of the season.

“He does what he does,” Sam Houston head coach Chad Hebert said. “He is a strike-thrower and mixes in three pitches for a strike.

“He had a couple of walks but never really gave us any hard contact. We played defense behind him. We had two errors, but for the most part they were not big errors.

“We just have to keep doing what we are doing right now. I felt like we swung the bats pretty well today.”

The Broncos (25-5, 8-3) pressured the Tors (15-17, 7-5) with four stolen bases in the first inning and jumped out to a 3-0 lead. They scored one run on an error, and Dallas Rhodes hit a two-out, two-run single.

Sam Houston added three runs in the second when Jordan Thompson hit a two-run single and scored on a passed ball.

The Broncos finished with five stolen bases, two each from Dylan Thompson and Jordan Thompson, but Sulphur catcher Luke Benoit threw out a pair of Broncos for a second consecutive game.

“Baserunning could have been better, but when you get up 6-0 you can take some chances on the bases that you don’t normally,” Hebert said. “We did and Sulphur’s catcher is really good. He is going to be good for a while.”

After falling behind 6-0, the Tors were got four scoreless innings from relief pitcher Kohl Navarre but couldn’t overcome early struggles that included three errors in the first two innings.

“Norris did a good job of keeping us off balance,” Sulphur head coach Sam Moore said. “Early in the game, he was getting his breaking pitch over.

“We had some swings on him and hit a couple of balls hard. We just got off to a slow start defensively and pitching. Once you get off to a slow start against these guys, they make you pay.

“I thought for the last five innings of this game we played well. If we play like that, we will find a way to score runs.”

District 3-5A

Sam Houston 6

Sulphur 0

Sulphur 000 000 0—0-1-4

Sam Houston 330 000 x—6-6-2

PITCHING: W — Alex Norris. L — Vinny Collins.

TOP HITTERS: Sulphur — Walker Bridges 1-2. Sam Houston — Jordan Thompson 2-3 (2 runs, 2 RBIs).

RECORDS: Sulphur — 15-17, 7-5. Sam Houston — 25-5, 8-3.

Sam Houston pitcher Alex Norris delivers a pitch against the Tors during a District 3-5A game Saturday at McMurry Park in Sulphur. Norris carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and had to settle for a one-hit shutout.

Rodrick Anderson