In what has become almost a yearly tradition for Texas State, the Bobcats walked into one of the state’s “flagship” programs’ home ballpark and strolled out with a victory.
Jesus Tovar and Alex Valentin were masterful on the mound, Austin Eaton and Ryne Farber both left the yard and for the second time in the last four seasons, Texas State (6-2) knocked off the nation’s number-one team on the road, this time a 7-3 win over Texas A&M (5-2) on Tuesday night at Blue Bell Park in College Station.
The way the evening started for Texas State was nothing short of foreshadowing the kind of night it would be. Ahead in the count 3-1, Farber was served a 91 mph heater over the plate that he sent over the bullpen for a leadoff home run.
Texas A&M responded quickly, however, as Aggie shortstop Kaeden Kent hit a leadoff homer of his own, shortly followed by a solo shot from third baseman Wyatt Henseler. Fortunately for the Bobcats, the Aggies wouldn’t score again until the ninth.
The big separator for the Bobcats was the third inning. With the score still sitting at 2-1 in favor of the Aggies and one strike from ending the inning, Texas State designated hitter Austin Eaton flipped the scoreboard for the Bobcats with one swing, smashing a three-run home run over the left field wall.
The Bobcats loaded the bases shortly after, and Samson Pugh came through with a two-RBI single that made it a five-run third inning, giving Texas State the 6-2 advantage. All five Bobcat runs in the inning were scored with two outs.
Texas State scored one more run in the fifth, once again courtesy of a single off the bat of Pugh to push the lead to 7-2. Perhaps the biggest highlight of the evening, however, was the combined effort of Tovar and Valentin in stifling the explosive Aggie offense.
After surrendering the two first inning home runs, Tovar settled into his start, not allowing another run to cross the plate. In only his second start at the Division 1 level, Tovar held the number one team in the nation to two runs on five hits while punching out seven over his 4 ⅓ innings of work.
Tovar’s effort on the mound seemed like it would be hard to top until Valentin entered the game in the fifth inning. With a sinker that he ran up to 94 mph and a slurve with a ton of bend, Valentin kept the A&M lineup off balance for the remainder of the night. Valentin tossed 4 ⅔ innings, giving up one run on two hits and striking out five while picking up his first win as a Bobcat.
After beating the Longhorns in Austin the past three years, the Bobcats can now add the Aggies to the list of powerhouse programs that have lost to them in their home ballpark.
Texas State will look to keep its momentum rolling this weekend when it hosts Grand Canyon University for a three-game series. Game one against the Lopes is set for 6 p.m. on Friday at Bobcat Ballpark.
