Despite a quality start from Alex Valentin, an even stronger start from Coastal Carolina’s (19-7) Jacob Morrison spelled doom for Texas State baseball (11-14) as it dropped the series opener against the Chanticleers 7-0 on Friday night at Bobcat Ballpark.
Valentin tossed six innings, allowing three runs on two hits. His biggest issue on the night was his command, as he walked a season-high seven batters and hit two. The Chanticleers were given nine total free passes. Even with all the free passes, Valentin kept Texas State in the game.
Unfortunately for the Bobcats, Morrison stood opposite them on the hill for Coastal. The 6-foot-8-inch righty held the Texas State offense down all night. Morrison threw seven shutout innings, allowing five hits and punching out 10. With his Friday night performance, Morrison remains perfect on the year, moving to 5-0 and lowering his ERA to 2.08.
Friday night’s contest between the Bobcats and Chanticleers was quiet for most of the game. Each side was held scoreless through the first three innings before Coastal finally cracked the scoreboard in the fourth with an RBI single. Coastal scored again in the fifth when a throwing error allowed two more to cross the plate, giving the Chanticleers a 3-0 advantage.
The game went quiet again after the fifth. The sixth, seventh and eighth were all scoreless on both sides. Texas State was within striking distance all game until the ninth inning. With one out in the final frame, Coastal third baseman Walker Mitchell put the game out of reach, launching a grand slam into the San Marcos sky, ballooning the Chanticleer lead to 7-0.
Coastal pitching finished the shutout by holding the Bobcats scoreless in the ninth.
Texas State will look to rebound from the shutout loss and even the series with Coastal in game two of the series.
The first pitch of game two between the Bobcats and Chanticleers is set for 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at Bobcat Ballpark. The game will be streaming on ESPN+.
