It was an afternoon of home runs and big cheers for the Frogs as the team went 3-0 in their opening series against Sam Houston State.

This weekend’s crowd was the largest three-game series in Lupton Stadium, with 8,803 fans in the stands over the course of the weekend.

They certainly were not disappointed.

Kyle Winkler pitched his first game of the season, and said he felt good about it.

“I feel comfortable on the mat, I feel like I’m throwing pretty well,” he said.

Tyler Lockwood replaced Winkler at the top of the fourth inning.

At the bottom of the first inning, Taylor Featherston had the first run for the Frogs after Joe Weik singled to left field, followed by a single by Josh Elander that got Weik and Bryan Holaday over home plate.

Solid defense kept the Bearkats at bay at the top of the second, and by the third inning the Frogs had taken a six-run lead.

Matt Curry scored on a wild pitch from Sam Houston pitcher Matt Shelton, and Jerome Pena advanced to second.

Curry went on to second and then stole home at the bottom of the fourth.

At the bottom of the fifth inning, Jerome Pena hit the first home run of the season. Another hit out of the ballpark came from Bryan Holaday two batters later.

“We had really good at-bats all day long,” head coach Jim Schlossnagle said.

Walker Kelly replaced Lockwood as pitcher at the top of the sixth inning. In the same inning, Kaleb Merck replaced Kelly after Kelly walked two Sam Houston players.

Matt Curry hit his first home run in the Lupton Stadium at the bottom of the sixth.

The game ended at the top of the seventh inning, and the Frogs celebrated their 15-2 victory.