On a blustery Sunday afternoon at Bobcat Ballpark, the Texas State Bobcats (5-2) won a series against the Gonzaga Bulldogs (2-5) by shutting out their future Pac-12 opponent 5-0 in the weekend series’ rubber match.
Junior starting pitcher Jesus Tovar dazzled on the mound, going eight innings while surrendering zero runs and striking out six while the offense had a much better performance compared to Saturday’s matchup.
“We just found ways to continue to stack [runs] on,” Texas State head coach Steven Trout said, “We took advantage of some walks, situational hitting and found ways to play a really complete game today.”
Neither side was particularly offensive, with only eight hits total in the game. However, fellow freshmen Jackson Cotton and Tanner Carson continued their hot start with the bats as they both contributed greatly towards Texas State’s victory.
Jackson opened the scoring with a solo home run into left field in the third inning, followed by Carson belting a line drive past the diving glove of Gonzaga’s senior second basemen Hudson Shupe to knock in two more runs, with Carson ultimately seeing home plate as well via a walk with the bases loaded.
“It’s awesome to see…our whole freshman class is very professional,” Carson said. “[Cotton]’s very mature in the box and in the field…I think he deserves all the success he’s getting.”
However, the crown for today’s shutout belongs to Tovar, who hit the century mark in pitches while not allowing a baserunner past second base. While battling the wind and some control issues early, he more than made up for that with only allowing three singles, allowing only one past the third inning and walking just one Bulldog.
“Just trusting the sinker-cutter combination today, I didn’t really use any other pitches,” Tovar said. “Just tried moving around the zone, side-to-side and let [our] defense work to [turn] those double plays.”
Sophomore shortstop Dawson Park also had a day on the base paths, garnering three stolen bases on the day as part of an impressive baserunning series for the Bobcats, who robbed five total bags from the Bulldogs.
“They’re really athletic guys, which allows us to take advantage of that,” Trout said. “We’re always trying to find that extra advantage…and that’s our M-O of this team, ‘hey, when they give us the opportunity, we will take advantage of it.’”
The Bobcats take their 5-1 home record into an I-35 showdown with the UTSA Roadrunners at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 24, at Bobcat Ballpark. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
