No. 12 Southern Mississippi pitcher JB Middleton posted a seven-inning performance complimenting a consistent Eagle offense that overpowered the Texas State Bobcats in a 9-1 victory on Wednesday, May 21, in Montgomery, Ala., during round two of the Sun Belt Championship.
Despite the loss due to double elimination, Texas State remains in the tournament and will play the Troy Trojans on Thursday, May 22, at 9 a.m.
“Now we’re (playing) 9 a.m. against Troy, whose playing for their lives as well, so looking forward to waking up and playing some baseball,” Head Coach Steven Trout said.
Texas State’s defensive game got to a slow start with Jesus Tovar pitching two innings, allowing four hits and three runs across the eleven batters he faced before Alex Valentin took over the mound in inning three.
Valentin pitched two innings with a promising start in the third, throwing two strikeouts and completing the first scoreless inning of the game for the Eagles.
Southern Miss picked momentum back up in the fourth inning adding two more runs to the board, Valentin finished his time on the mound after throwing 48 pitches.
“You gotta give credit to their offense,” Trout said. “They were locked in, the plan was to go him (Tovar) and Valentin and they (Eagle offense) did a good job on both of them.”
Throughout the game, the Eagles capitalized on at-bats, accumulating a total of 16 hits on the day compared to Texas State’s five. Middleton cut down the Bobcat offensive threat, throwing ten strikeouts throughout his seven innings.
Regardless of a steep score, Texas State’s defense made a notable impact by limiting further scoring opportunities for Southern Miss, who totaled 16 runners left on base.
Valentin’s exit after the fourth inning triggered a rotating door for Texas State’s bullpen, where, through the remainder of the game, five more pitchers stepped up to the plate.
The last of those five pitchers, Conner Doucet, made his fifth pitching appearance of the season in the eighth inning, ending Texas State’s defensive game with a solid outing, seeing three pitchers up and out and leaving the Eagles scoreless.
Texas State’s lone run came in the sixth inning as a result of Rashawn Galloway’s RBI that allowed Chase Mora to run home.
Ahead of the elimination game against Troy, Texas State saved other top pitching arms, such as Carson Laws, Matthew Tippie and Austin Eaton for game number three.
“I feel really rested back there (in the bullpen), hopefully get off to a good start with Eaton and go right to those two guys and and lock our chances with those guys on the mound,” Trout said.
The Bobcats recorded a 1-2 record in their Sun Belt series with the Trojans and finished a dominant 14-3 victory in their recent game with their upcoming opponent.
Thursday’s first pitch between Texas State and Troy is scheduled for 9 a.m. at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Ala., and can be streamed on ESPN+.
