Luke Jones pitched a gem as the No. 9 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (29-12, 16-3 SBC) opened the weekend, defeating the Texas State Bobcats (26-16, 9-10 SBC) 6-2 Friday evening at Springs Brooks Stadium in Conway, S.C.

Jones collected his sixth win of the season with a six inning performance, allowing two hits and no runs along with six strikeouts.

The Bobcats generated pressure on the base path regularly but failed to drive in runs. A prime example of this was in the top of the third inning when Texas State trailed by one run.

They loaded the bases with only one out, but junior left fielder Jaquan Stewart hit into a double play, which allowed the Chanticleers to escape the inning unscathed.

After being one-hit in their previous game back on April 21, the Chanticleers racked up 10 hits to supply their pitching staff with more than enough run support. Coastal Carolina junior catcher Brice Estep went 3-4 with a home run sent deep out of left field.

For the Bobcats, their two lone runs came off the bats of solo home runs from senior rightfielder Rashawn Galloway in the eighth and sophomore centerfielder Samson Pugh in the ninth.

This pushed the Texas State to 78 home runs on the year, sitting just five away from matching the 83 bombs hit in 2023, the second most within a season in program history.

The Bobcats have now lost six conference games in a row, dating back to April 11 against Troy and last weekend against Southern Miss. They will seek to get back on track when they play the Chanticleers once again at 1 p.m. tomorrow at Springs Brooks Stadium.

The game will be available on ESPN+.