Right-handed pitcher Riley Eikhoff pitched seven strong innings and the Bobcats continued to struggle as Coastal Carolina (20-8) beat Texas State (12-15) 10-3 on Sunday afternoon at Bobcat Ballpark.
“11 a.m. game, I didn’t think we were energetic enough,” Texas State head coach Steven Trout said. “Overall, I just thought some guys were okay with losing right now, and I’m not okay with that.”
Eikhoff struck out eight and allowed one run, no walks and five hits en route to earning the win and giving the Chanticleers a 2-1 series victory. Scott Doran gave up two runs in an inning and Ryan Lynch pitched a scoreless ninth.
Seven Coastal Carolina batters collected at least one hit.
Like Coastal, seven Bobcats collected at least one hit. Caden Baker went 2-for-3 with a walk and one run.
Jackson Teer opposed Eikhoff on the mound and allowed five runs, four earned, four hits, two walks and struck out three. Six Bobcat pitchers saw action out of the bullpen: Bryson Dudley, Matthew Tippie, Josh Glaser, Jackson Mayo, Carson Laws and Colby Diaz.
Poor defense contributed to Texas State’s loss, as it committed three errors compared to zero from Coastal.
The Chanticleers grabbed a 3-0 lead in the third. With runners on the corners and one out, Blake Barthol laid down a bunt that third baseman Chase Mora couldn’t handle with the runner heading home, giving the Chanticleers a 1-0 lead and runners on second and third. Teer intentionally walked Caden Bodine before inducing a strikeout of Sebastian Alexander. Ty Dooley walked to drive in a run, followed by Walker Mitchel hitting a line drive off Teer for an RBI single.
Caden Baker scored on a wild pitch in the bottom half of the third to lower Texas State’s deficit to two.
Dawson Park committed an error in the fourth that allowed a run to score, followed by a run-scoring double play off the bat of Bodine.
Coastal added another run in the sixth off a throwing error from Tippie and went up 7-1 after Colby Throdyke hit an RBI double in the eighth.
The Bobcats claimed a run back off an RBI triple to left center from Mora in the bottom half of the inning. Alan Shibley drove in Mora on a groundout to the pitcher, making the score 7-3.
Alexander put the game out of reach in the ninth by hitting a towering three-run home run to left field off a pitch from Laws.
Next, the Bobcats face their strongest opponent yet, the No. 7 University of Texas.
The first pitch between the Bobcats and Longhorns is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin. The game will be available to stream on SEC Network+.
