Texas State baseball (11-15 overall, 2-4 Sun Belt) fell 4-2 to the Baylor University Bears (14-10 overall, 1-5 Big 12) on March 30.
Texas State came into the game after a 2-1 series win against the University of Louisiana at Monroe while Baylor was in the middle of a four-game losing skid.
Baylor got off to a quick start after the Bobcats went scoreless at the top of the first inning. At the bottom of the inning, freshman infielder Tre Richardson hit an RBI-triple to put the Bears up 2-0.
The Bobcats responded in the second inning as sophomore outfielder Ben McClain hit a sacrifice fly ball to bring home senior infielder Cole Coffey to bring the score to 2-1.
In the bottom of the second, with two Bears on base, sophomore pitcher Zeke Wood struck out Richardson to end the inning.
At the top of the third, sophomore infielder/outfielder Jose Gonzalez hit a triple into center field. Graduate catcher Bryce Bonner came up to bat and hit an RBI-single out to right-field to bring in Gonzalez and tie the score 2-2.
The score remained tied until the bottom of the fifth when Baylor sophomore infielder Antonio Valdez singled out to right-field to bring in Richardson and retake the lead 3-2. Sophomore pitcher Austin Smith came in for Wood after the score to end the inning. Texas State had the opportunity to tie yet three batters went up, and three batters went out.
At the bottom of the sixth, Texas State junior pitcher Trevis Sundgren took the mound but his first pitch turned into a solo home run by freshman infielder/outfielder Kyle Nevin to go up 4-2.
Both teams went scoreless in the seventh inning. At the top of the eighth, Texas State had the bases loaded with one out, but a grounder by junior infielder Dalton Shuffield turned into a double play, neutralizing the scoring threat.
The Bobcats came back and ended the Bears inning with a double play of their own to keep the score at 4-2 going into the ninth.
Texas State had the tying run on base with two outs as senior outfielder Will Hollis stepped up to the plate but a fly out to third base ended the game 4-2.
Bonner finished the contest 2-3 with an RBI, junior infielder Justin Thompson went 2-4 and Gonzalez finished 1-4 with a run and a triple. Wood picked up his second loss of the season as he is 2-2 on year.
Texas State will go on to play the University of Texas at Arlington in a tripleheader from April 1-3. The April 2-3 contests will be streamed on ESPN+.
