The Sam Houston Broncos dropped their opener in gut wrenching fashion Monday night, falling to the Sulphur Golden Tors  3-2 in 9 innings over at McMurray Park.  Neither team mustered much offense on a cold blustery night, where pitching and defense dominated the game.  Bronco starting pitcher Cody Rider, sailed through the first 4 innings striking out 3 and getting some big help from his defense.  In the 3^rd inning with still no score, the first Sulphur batter got on with a walk. But that’s as far as he would get as the next two went down in order then catcher Garrett Logan picked him off first.  In the 4^th, Rider again was aided by his defense as second baseman Andrew Guillotte made a spectacular diving catch of a ball hit up the middle then got up in time to throw him out to first baseman Billy Sommers.  But as the Bronco defense was red hot, the Bronco bats were ice cold.  After an initial single by Guillotte to start the game,  the Tors pitching staff faced the minimum amount of batters until the 5^th inning.  In the 5^th, the first 2 Bronco batters went down, Sommers then drew a walk, then advanced to 2^nd on a Rider single.  Shortstop Travis Montgomery then drove in the first Bronco run of the season driving in Sommers with a hit up the middle.  It looked as the Broncos were going to open it up in the 5^th as centerfielder Blake Felts was then hit by a pitch to load the bases.  With the bases loaded, Guillotte then hit a liner into the gap in left center that the Sulphur centerfielder made a great diving catch on to end the Bronco threat.  Sulphur answered right back in their half of the inning, scoring 1 run on 3 hits as Rider pitched out of a bases loaded jam.  In the Bronco 6^th, Dyllon Johnson led off with a triple and scored one pitch later on a wild pitch as the Broncos took a 2-1 lead.  Evan Powell then hit a double but he was left on 3^rd base as the Broncos could not get any more offense going.  Sulphur was not to be outdone on this night though.  In the Tors half of the 6^th,  a leadoff single, then a double knotted the game at 2 chasing Rider from the game.  Powell then moved from 3^rd base to pitch as Rider went to 3^rd.  The Bronco defense went back to work as the 1^st batter Powell faced hit one deep into the left centerfield gap that Felts chased down in spectacular fashion catching it for out number one.  The Tors runner at 2^nd did not advance on the play.  Powell then got the next two batters on a strike out then a come backer to him.  The Broncos did not get another batter on base the rest of the game as the Tors relief pitchers shut the offense down.  The Tors scored their run in the bottom of the 9^th on an infield single and a double to the left center gap.  Rider gave up 2 runs on 3 hits, striking out 5 in 5 innings.  Powell gave up 1 run on 2 hits, striking out 5 in 4 innings.

The Broncos are back in action this Friday in the Stephen Richardson Memorial Tournament in Baton Rouge at 4:30 taking on West Monroe at East Ascension High School.  If you cannot make the game, tune in to the Sam Houston Baseball Network at www.mossbluffbaseballboosterclub.com for live play by play coverage of all of this week's tournament.