Texas State baseball split its four-game series against the Brigham Young University Cougars to open the season with a 2-2 record.
The matchup started with a doubleheader on Feb. 20 as the remaining two contests were played from Feb. 22-23
In the first game of the series, the Bobcats went up 3-0 and held that margin until the top of the fourth inning where BYU junior outfielder Cole Gambill hit a two-run homer to bring the score to 3-2.
At the bottom of the fourth, Texas State junior infielder Justin Thompson hit a single out to right field which allowed sophomore outfielder Ben McClain to run home to extend the Bobcat’s lead to 4-2.
Except for Gambill’s home run, the Bobcats were able to keep the Cougars’ attack at bay for a large portion of the game. Senior pitcher Zachary Leigh was largely to thank for this effort as he had 10 strikeouts before being subbed out at the top of the fifth.
BYU tied the game 4-4 at the top of the sixth as they scored two runs off a double from senior catcher Abraham Valdez. 
The game remained tied until the bottom of the seventh as a run from junior infielder Dalton Shuffield gave the Bobcats a 5-4 lead. Texas State held on to the slim margin to win the first contest.
Less than an hour later both teams took the field for the second game yet this time the Cougars took the early lead as they went up 4-0.
The Bobcats managed to score three runs in the bottom of the second inning to bring the score to 4-3 before junior outfielder John Wuthrich scored a run to tie the 4-4 in the bottom of the third.
BYU took back the lead 6-4 at the top of the sixth but both teams were neck-and-neck with each other for the next several innings.
The Cougars broke the game open in the ninth inning as they scored three runs via a wild pitch and throwing errors by Texas State to extend their lead and dash the Bobcats hopes of a comeback.
In the third game, the Cougars took a 2-0 lead and held it well into the sixth inning as Texas State was batting with two outs, but that is when the flood gates opened.
Junior infielder Wesley Faison hit a three-run homer to grab the lead 3-2. Later in the inning, with the bases loaded senior outfielder Will Hollis hit a single which allowed freshman infielder Cade Manning to run home bringing the score to 4-2.
With the bases still loaded, BYU subsequently walked three straight Bobcats to give them a 7-2 lead. To cap off the inning, graduate infielder Johnny Gonzales hit a three-run shot to go up 10-2. BYU played three different pitchers during the run.
The Cougars attempted a comeback but the Bobcats held on to win 11-6.
In the final game of the series, the Cougars put up a 4-1 lead at the top of the fifth inning. With Texas State at-bat later in the inning, Thompson batted in two runs from a single to right field to bring the score to 4-3. Hollis scored a run off a wild BYU pitch to tie the game 4-4 to end the fifth inning.
The Cougars grabbed two runs at the top of the sixth inning before the Bobcats did the same at the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the game 6-6.
The contest remained a stalemate for three full innings before the game went into extras where Cougars’ junior infielder Austin Demming hit a fly ball deep into center field which allowed sophomore infielder Andrew Pintar to run home and break the tie 7-6. BYU held on in the bottom of the tenth to win the game.
Texas State will go on to play Sam Houston State University at 4 p.m. on Feb. 24 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.