Meg Boles
Texas State junior pitcher Calen Graham (42) pitches the ball, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas.
Texas State baseball (3-2) was defeated on the opening day of the Karbach Round Rock Classic 7-4 by the University of Kansas (3-2) Friday night at Dell Diamond. This marks Texas State’s second straight loss after falling to No. 5 TCU on Tuesday.
Offensively, the Bobcats were led by homeruns from redshirt senior catcher August Ramirez, senior infielder Alec Patino and an RBI double from freshman infielder Ryne Farber. Ramirez finished 3-for-4 at the plate, while Patino, along with junior infielder Daylan Pena were each 2-for-4 with a double.
Redshirt junior pitcher Austin Eaton took the loss for the Bobcats on the mound. Eaton gave up five runs on six hits and struck out two Jayhawk batters in 2.1 innings of work.
The Jayhawks began the game with a four-run first inning off Eaton and never looked back, adding three more runs throughout the next eight innings to seal the 7-4 victory.
Kansas senior pitcher Reese Dutton got the win with a stellar performance by striking out five Bobcat batters and only allowing two runs in five innings.
Timely hitting was where the shortcomings stemmed for the Bobcats. Texas State loaded the bases with two outs on two separate occasions but struck out in both situations to strand the runners.
The Bobcats will look to rebound from the tough loss when they face the University of Kentucky (4-1) on the second day of the Round Round Classic. The Wildcats will also be looking for their first win of the tournament, having lost 6-4 to Washington State on opening day.
The opening pitch between Texas State and Kentucky is scheduled to be thrown at 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas. The game will be available to stream on D1baseball.com.