Joseph Zamora hit a line drive to left field, allowing Charlie Evans to score in the 11th inning to bring the Appalachian State Mountaineers to an 8-7 victory over the Texas State Bobcats at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium on Saturday.
This victory brings the Mountaineers to 2-0 in conference play and 10-8 overall. The Bobcats fall to 0-2 in conference play and 8-10 overall.
Alex Valentin started on the mound for the Bobcats and had a shaky start in the first inning. Valentin hit three batters and allowed one walk and a run before settling in to strike out two batters in five innings.
Despite fog rolling in during the fourth, the Bobcats scored two runs from Ian Collier and Cole Tabor.
The Bobcats kept this momentum into the fifth inning by adding two more to the scoreboard. Caden Baker reached first on a throwing error, followed by a single to the left from Chase Mora. Alan Shibley walked to bring the Bobcats to a bases-loaded inning, and Ryne Farber singled to center field for two RBIs.
The Mountaineers answered with five runs in the bottom of the sixth, highlighted by a bases-loaded triple from John Kramer.
The Bobcats tied the score 7-7 in the eighth inning with three runs scored. Zachary Gingrich, Collier and Tabor all made their way back to home plate, with Tabor scoring on a wild pitch.
Tyler Figueroa got a base hit and headed to second base after a throwing error during the ninth inning. After a single from Tyler Lichtenberger, Samson Pugh threw Figueroa out at home plate to take the Bobcats and Mountaineers to extra innings.
Mora started the 11th inning with a double to left field, followed by a single from Shibley. The bases were loaded after Farber was intentionally walked. The Mountaineers’ Jordan Fisher struck out the next three Bobcat batters before Zamora’s heroics.
Fisher is now 2-1 for the Mountaineers, and Jackson Teer falls to 0-3 for the Bobcats.
The Bobcats will face the Mountaineers in the final game of the series on Sunday at noon. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.