A record-breaking day was in store for Texas State as the Bobcats broke the team record for most home runs in a season en-route to a 15-9 shootout victory over the Arkansas State Red Wolves at Tomlinson Stadium-Slayton Family Field in Jonesboro, Ark.
The Bobcats (31-21, 13-14 SBC) scored six home runs to topple the record and then some thanks to the efforts of senior right fielder Rashawn Galloway and freshman catcher Clayton Namken, each recording two home runs.
While the Red Wolves (28-22, 11-16 SBC) had their best offensive game of the series, the pitching staff right from the start held them back greatly, as evident when the furthest one of their 11 pitchers went was 2 2/3 innings.
The Bobcats started off the same way they did in Saturday’s game with a fast start, scoring four runs as they took advantage of an RBI walk, Sacrifice fly and RBI singles from Senior third basemen Chase Mora and sophomore shortstop Brady Boles.
The strong start at the plate for the Bobcats carried over to the pitching as senior pitcher Ryan Markwardt started at the mound for Texas State, recording two strikeouts to keep the Redwolves off the board at the bottom of the first.
Markwardt pitched a total of three innings, recording seven strikeouts while holding the Red Wolves to three hits.
Texas State’s offense picked up right where they left off in the second inning, as Galloway launched a solo home run into right field, extending the Bobcat lead to 5-0 and officially breaking the team record for home runs in a season.
The Bobcats extended the lead to 6-0 after an Arkansas State fielding error allowed junior designated hitter Manny Salas to score.
In the bottom of the third, the Red Wolves broke their scoring drought as a fielding error got them on the board. Arkansas State’s offense stayed hot to close out the inning after freshman catcher Derek Martinez hit an RBI single to bring the score to 6-2 Bobcats.
After a quiet fourth inning for both teams, Texas State came in the fifth inning hot with three home runs and five more runs.
Galloway hit his second home run of the day to add two runs to the board, immediately followed by Salas launching a solo home run into center field to make the score 9-2 Bobcats.
Texas State finished the inning off with a two-run home run by Namken to get the Bobcats to double-digit runs and a nine-run lead.
The Red Wolves cut down the lead at the bottom of the fifth with an RBI single, but could not get any more offense going, bringing the score 11-3 Bobcats.
Both teams had their bats go cold through the sixth inning, but as the seventh inning began, both heated up once again.
At the top of the seventh, Namken launched his second home run of the day into center field to extend the lead to 12-3 Bobcats. But the Red Wolves fought back with an RBI single and a two-run home run by senior right fielder Evan Griffs to bring the score to 12-6 Bobcats.
The Bobcats kept their foot on the gas at the top of the eighth when Mora hit a solo home run, bringing Texas State’s home run tally to six on the day and extending the lead to 13-6 Bobcats.
Down by seven going into the bottom of the eighth, Arkansas State began a late-game surge with senior designated hitter Jackson Illingworth hitting his first home run of the season.
Senior shortstop Patrick Engskov then launched a two-run home run into left field to bring the Red Wolves within four going into the ninth.
Texas State added two insurance runs at the top of the ninth inning with an RBI single and a run-scoring groundout, bringing the score to 15-9 Bobcats.
Though Arkansas State got some life with two singles, the Bobcats closed out the game with two strikeouts, slamming the door on a potential comeback.
With the win, Texas State completed the series sweep over the Red Wolves, putting the Bobcats in a good position to not only get into the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, but have a fighting chance to avoid playing in the first round and making the main part of the bracket altogether.
Texas State will look to keep the four-game win streak going as they travel to San Antonio to play the UTSA Roadrunners at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12 at Roadrunner Field. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
