Texas State baseball (17-18, 7-8 SBC) competed in a three-game series against the No. 23 Southern Miss Golden Eagles (24-12, 10-5 SBC) last weekend at Bobcat Ballpark. The Golden Eagles won the series 2-1.
Here’s a recap for every game:
Game 1
J.B Middleton and the No. 23 ranked Southern Miss Golden Eagles sank the Bobcats back under .500 by a score of 5-2 on Friday night at Bobcat Ballpark.
Middleton (7.0 IP) struck out six batters and allowed only five hits. Middleton did not allow a single run and racked up his sixth win of the season (6-1).
On the other side of the pitchers’ duel, Alex Valentin received the loss (4-3). Valentin (5.0 IP) allowed five earned runs on seven hits. Valentin now has 41 strikeouts on the year after recording four against the Golden Eagles.
Nick Monistere got the party started for the Golden Eagles with a solo blast to left field in the top of the first inning. Monistere reached base four times (2b, HR, 2BB).
Another key contributor for Southern Miss was right fielder Carson Paetow, who had a two-RBI double in the top of the third inning.
For the Bobcats offense, shortstop Ryne Farber and right fielder Alan Shibley both finished with one RBI.
Despite the tough loss, the Bobcats showed resilience in the last inning and forced the Golden Eagles to bring in their starting closer Colby Allen.
“That was a big moment even though we did not win the baseball game, we saw that guy [Colby Allen] and made him throw some high-leverage pitches,” Texas State head coach Steven Trout said. “Some of our guys at the top of the order saw him as well, and that gives you something into the next day, and into the series”.
Game 2
Despite carrying momentum with wins against No. 5 UT-Austin, Louisiana and Baylor, the Texas State Bobcats were unable to carry it through with a series loss to No. 23 Southern Miss Golden Eagles (24-11, 10-4 SBC) Saturday afternoon when the Bobcats were run-ruled 12-1 at Bobcat Ballpark.
Starting pitcher Grayden Harris is credited with his fourth win on the year, pitching five innings and striking out five, giving up three hits and one earned run en route to the victory.
Texas State struck first in the bottom of the first when Alan Shibley grounded a ball just softly enough into centerfield to score Chase Mora. Starting pitcher Jesus Tovar pitched with just a few hiccups going into the fourth inning, which turned out to be the turning point in the match.
The next three innings saw the Golden Eagles explode into an offensive frenzy. Catcher Tucker Stockman tied the game with an RBI single into left before shortstop Ozzie Pratt gave Southern Miss a lead they would never relinquish. To cap off the fourth inning’s explosion, third basemen Drey Barrett crushed a home run into center field to give the Golden Eagles a 5-1 lead.
In the top half of the fifth, right fielder Carson Paetow extended Southern Miss’s lead with a two-out, solo shot into right center off reliever Bryson Dudley, making it 6-1.
Ultimately, the sixth inning is where the Bobcats saw their demise. The Golden Eagles added on to their lead with two RBI singles from second basemen Nick Monistere and first basemen Matthew Russo that made it 8-1. Austin Eaton came in to relieve Dudley following the RBI single from Monistere in just his second appearance on the mound after an injury sidelined him for a month.
The exclamation point for the Golden Eagles was a grand slam from Paetow, his second home run of the day.
Paetow’s Grand Slam gave Southern Miss a 12-1 lead in the top of the sixth, which would lead to the Bobcats being run-ruled in the bottom of the seventh. Saturday’s loss is their fourth time being run-ruled this season.
Despite the early lead, the Bobcats failed to capitalize on both sides of the ball. With runners on base, they left eight runners on. In comparison to pitching, it unraveled rather quickly as a result of control being lost and just overall collapsing in the later frames against one of the best offenses in the Sun Belt.
Game 3
Samson Pugh’s two-run home run in the eighth inning paved the way for the Texas State Bobcats’ 11-10 win in the series finale against the #23 Southern Miss Golden Eagles Sunday at Bobcat Ballpark.
The Bobcats battled and came out successful, winning the game with the bases loaded after getting hit by a pitch.
The first three runs by the Bobcats were brought in by singles from Alan Shibley, Ian Collier, and Rashawn Galloway. The fourth run was brought in by a double from Ryne Farber, giving the Bobcats a 4-0 going into the third inning.
The Golden Eagles didn’t let them hold that lead for long, striking back in the third inning with three runs, cutting the lead down to one.
The Bobcats, however, also battled in the third inning, adding two more runs on the board with a triple from Zachary Gingrich, giving the Bobcats a 6-3 lead.
The Golden Eagles continued to battle, scoring one run in the fifth, three runs in the sixth and three runs in the seventh, taking the lead and making the score 10-6. The Bobcats, however, did not score at all in these innings.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Bobcats had two outs with two on base when Samson Pugh came up to the plate. Pugh got a hanging breaking ball with an 0-2 count, crushing that ball 357 feet into left field to bring in two runs, making the score 8-10 for the Bobcats.
“Trying to win one pitch at a time,” Pugh said. “I think our energy was really low, so I think that home run really helped to boost it and got us going.”
The Bobcats battled and came out victorious in the ninth inning, bringing in three runs, the last one being the game winning run. It started with a single up the middle from Galloway, bringing in the first two runs to tie the game 10-10.
After Dawson Park got hit by a pitch, it loaded the bases for the Bobcats. Pugh came up to the plate and, after three straight balls, got hit and brought in a run to win the game 11-10.
“The goal before the game was to fight, it’s a survivor game,” head coach Steven Trout said. ” We came out swinging the bats really well. We came out in the first few innings and saw rewards from it, and then they shut us down, and we got back to it.”
Carson Laws (3-0) finished the game, pitching 3 2/3 innings and getting four strikeouts. Laws got hit by a ball but stayed in the game and kept battling to help bring the Bobcats to a victory.
“Getting that run support [from Pugh] means everything,” Laws said. “It helps a lot, especially on a day like today when the wind is blowing out.”
