Texas State baseball (11-14 overall, 2-4 Sun Belt) won its first series of the season 2-1 against the University of Louisiana at Monroe Warhawks (10-10 overall, 3-3 Sun Belt) from March 26-28.
The team went into the matchup hoping to pick up momentum after a disappointing 5-8 stretch throughout March.
The duel on the mound for the first game was between Bobcats’ senior pitcher Zachary Leigh and ULM redshirt freshman pitcher Cam Barlow.
The Bobcats found themselves behind the eight-ball early, as Leigh gave up two runs in the first inning. ULM’s offensive attack was led by junior outfielder Trace Henry and junior outfielder Mason Holt. Both scored in the first, putting the Warhawks up 2-0.
An unforeseen fielding error by the Bobcats cost them another two runs, which ultimately put ULM up 4-0 at the end of the first inning.
The home plate umpire called an obstruction for blocking the plate on Texas State’s graduate catcher Tucker Redden. Texas State Head Coach Steven Trout, furious, immediately protested the error, which led to his ejection.
The Bobcats never seemed to bounce back from their initial 4-0 deficit. After an RBI-single in the third inning from junior infielder Justin Thompson, the Bobcats attempted a comeback with every plate appearance.
ULM put its foot on the gas offensively in the fifth and sixth innings, adding two more runs on the board.
The Bobcats tried to rally in the eighth inning after graduate catcher Bryce Bonner drilled a home run to left field. Senior infielder Jaxon Williams cracked a double to left field, followed by senior infielder Cole Coffey hitting a sacrifice fly to bring Williams home.
The Bobcats scored three runs from the sixth to eighth innings but, in the end, it was not enough. After a quick three up, three down in the ninth inning, they dropped the first game of the series 6-5.
The loss was Leigh’s fourth of the year, while Barlow picked up his third win of the season.
Senior outfielder Will Hollis headlined the second game with a walk-off RBI-double in the 10th inning.
Redshirt freshman pitcher Cameron Bush started the game for the Bobcats, while sophomore pitcher Tylor Jans started for ULM.
Texas State put up one run after Hollis scored on a balk. The Warhawks’ freshman infielder Michael Cervantes hit a three-run home run at the top of the second to put his team up 3-1.
Texas State attacked the ball much differently in the innings that followed. Coffey hit a moon shot to right field — a solo home run that brought the Bobcats within one run after the second inning.
Bonner came up big once again when an RBI-single tied the game 3-3 at the end of the third.
Both sides cleaned up their pitching after the third inning. Texas State nor ULM scored a run for four straight innings, with both teams splitting the hits battle by one or less until the eighth inning.
Then, senior outfielder Ryan Humeniuk hit a two RBI-single to put ULM up 5-3 heading to the bottom of the eighth inning.
After a quiet eighth inning, with sophomore outfielder Jose Gonzalez on base, sophomore utility Peyton Lewis hit a rocket into the right field to tie the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth.
The Bobcats turned to junior pitcher Tristan Stivors in the 10th. He pitched a clean inning, giving up zero runs, and the Bobcats entered the bottom of the inning with a chance to grab the win.
Junior infielder Cameron Gibbons went into the game to pinch-hit for Texas State. He got on base with a single to bring Hollis to bat. With a 1-2 count, Hollis hit a walk-off RBI double, leading Texas State to a 6-5 victory.
“The win was huge,” Hollis says. “For us to come out here and battle today and come back with a win is huge. I tried not to do too much, I was trying to stick to my approach and stay simple.”
The win split the series at one each, heading into the final battle of the weekend. The last contest was headlined by graduate pitcher Garrett Herrmann. His seven innings at the mound led to success for the Bobcats.
ULM’s senior outfielder Andrew Beesley scored the only run of the evening for the Warhawks. His RBI-groundout was the first run of the evening but the only one for the team all afternoon.
Texas State quickly answered after Coffey reached base on a fielder’s choice, leading to a Bonner score. The run tied the game up 1-1 after the second inning.
Seven strikeouts later for Herrmann, the score was tied at 1-1 until the seventh inning. Then, junior infielder Dalton Shuffield hit a solo homer to left-center, breaking the tie.
In the bottom of the eighth, Thompson hit a two-run home run into left field that broke open the score 4-1.
At the top of the ninth, Stivors secured his third save of the season. He struck out the side, sealing the victory for the Bobcats.
With a pair of victories under its belt, Texas State will go on to face the Baylor University Bears (13-10 overall, 1-5 Big 12).
The Bears enter the matchup on a four-game losing streak. Despite their recent struggles, they are second in the Big 12 in batting average (.304) and hits (243) and fourth in RBI (149) and runs (163).
They are seventh in the conference in earned run average (4.28) and eighth in opponent batting average (.252).
In the Sun Belt, Texas State is third in hits (220), runs (141) and RBI (129). The Bobcats’ .268 batting average is fourth in the conference.
The Bobcats will face the Bears at 6:30 p.m. on March 30 at Baylor Ballpark in Waco, Texas. ESPN+ will stream the matchup.