The Texas State baseball team (7-6) dropped the opening game of its weekend series with former conference foe Sam Houston State University (9-6) Friday night at Bobcat Ballpark by a final score of 3-2.
It was all about pitching as the cool and windy conditions at the ballpark set the contest between the Bobcats and Bearkats up to be a low-scoring affair from the jump.
“At the end of the day, [Sam Houston] found a way to make a couple more pitches,” Texas State Head Coach Steven Trout said. “This game comes down to winning pitches, and they won a couple more than we did tonight.”
The contest was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth inning when the Bobcats finally broke onto the scoreboard after an RBI double from junior outfielder Daylan Pena plated the game’s first run and gave Texas State the lead.
The Bobcats’ lead didn’t last long. In the top of the fifth, Sam Houston scored two runs on a pair of RBI singles, giving the Bearkats a one-run advantage.
Texas State tied the game in the bottom half of the seventh after senior infielder Davis Powell drove in the tying run with an RBI single, knotting the game at two apiece.
Unfortunately for the home crowd, the Bearkats took the lead right back in the eighth inning after a bases-loaded walk plated the go-ahead and eventual game-winning run to make the score 3-2. This was the final run to cross the plate on the evening as the Bobcats couldn’t break through in the ninth, sealing the win for Sam Houston.
On the bump for the Bobcats, redshirt junior Austin Eaton got the start and turned in a solid outing, going 4 ⅓ innings and surrendering two runs. Eaton ended up with a no-decision, as the loss on the night went to senior Jonathan Martinez.
Texas State returns to action and looks to even the series in the second matchup with the Bearkats.
The opening pitch between Texas State and Sam Houston is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Saturday, March. 2, at Bobcat Ballpark.
