The top-ranked Texas Longhorns barely escape San Marcos with a 9-8 win against #17 Texas State Bobcats on Tuesday night.
Senior right-hand pitcher Trevis Sundgren started on the mound and ended the day striking out one batter but allowed seven runs on eight hits in the 3.1 innings he pitched.
A two-run homer by sophomore shortstop Trey Faltine in the top of the second inning gave the Longhorns an early 2-0 lead and the momentum to get their offense going. A sacrifice fly from junior infielder Ivan Melendez allowed sophomore outfielder Douglas Hood III to cross the plate and increased the Longhorn lead to three runs going into the bottom of the third inning.
The Bobcats used the bottom of the third to build momentum and begin their comeback. Senior outfielder John Wuthrich lead off the inning with a single shot over the left-field wall that put Texas State on the scoreboard. An error by the Longhorns’ infield allowed junior infielder/outfielder Jose Gonzalez to score, cutting the Longhorns’ lead to one run. 
After a wild pitch from freshman right-hand pitcher Andre Duplantier II, senior infielder Justin Thompson hit and loaded the bases for the Bobcats. Freshman infielder Daylan Pena unloaded them on the first pitch with a grand slam to left field, giving the Bobcats their first and only lead of the night.
The Longhorns responded to the Bobcats’ six-run by matching the run total in the top of the fourth and increasing their lead back to three.
A strong pitching performance from sophomore Cameron Busch helped the Bobcats chip away at the Longhorn lead throughout the next four innings and cut it to one run. 
Busch didn’t allow a single run and was two pitches away from a perfect inning in the seventh. Busch led all pitchers with five strikeouts and pitched until the final inning of the game. 
In the final inning, Texas sophomore pitcher Aaron Nixon began to struggle on the mound. After 15 pitches of his next 18 pitches were balls, he was faced with loaded bases with two outs. With the game on the line, Nixon stepped up and struck out Texas State junior outfielder Ben McClain to end the game.
“It was a battle … our guys just kept fighting,” Head Coach Steven Trout said in the postgame press conference.
The win improves the Longhorns to 12-1 while the loss drops the Bobcats to 10-3. Game two of the series will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at UFCU Disch- Falk Field in Austin, Texas. The game will air on the Longhorn Network.