Texas State baseball (21-34 overall, 9-15 Sun Belt) was swept 3-0 in its final regular-season series to the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (26-23 overall, 9-12 Sun Belt) from May 20-22.
With this loss, the Bobcats will enter the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on May 25 sporting a now seven-game losing streak.
In game one, the Chants showed off their scoring prowess early in the fight. In the bottom of the second, Coastal’s sophomore infielder Eric Brown hit a solo home run out to center field.
At the top of the third, Texas State sophomore infielder/outfielder Jose Gonzalez responded to the run, hitting a two-run homer and taking a 2-1 lead.
Brown came back in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single that tied the game. Later in the inning, an RBI double by Chant sophomore infielder Cooper Weiss, followed by a Texas State fielding error, gave the Chants a 4-2 lead.
Coastal never looked back as senior catcher/outfielder Alex Gattinelli hit an RBI grounder, moving the score up 5-2 at the bottom of the fourth. The Chants extended their lead 8-2 at the bottom of the sixth as junior outfielder Parker Chavers scored on a wild pitch, junior catcher BT Riopelle hit an RBI double and junior infielder/outfielder Nick Lucky hit a sac fly.
The Chants scored yet again at the bottom of the eighth as Riopelle hit a two-run homer, bringing the score to 10-2.
With the game all but over, Texas State sophomore outfielder Ben McClain hit a three-run homer to cut the deficit 10-5, but it was too little too late to win the game.
Although game one played out to be a one-sided battle, game two left fans on the edge of their seats. By the top of the third, Texas State hopped on the board after game one’s loss, scoring a 4-0 lead right off the bat.
At the bottom of the third, however, the Chants scooted on the board as Gattinelli hit an RBI double that followed by an RBI single by Riopelle, bringing the score 4-2. The Chants captured a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the sixth, as sophomore infielder Zack Beach hit a sac fly, Weiss hit an RBI grounder and Brown ran home on a fielding error.
At the top of the seventh, the Bobcats took back the lead as senior infielder Jaxon Williams and senior outfielder Will Hollis each hit RBI singles, moving the score up 6-5. Texas State increased its lead to 7-5 at the top of the eighth, as McClain scored on a throwing error.
At the bottom of the ninth, down two runs, Gattinelli cut the Bobcat’s lead to one with an RBI single. Later in the frame, with two outs, Chavers reached home plate on a throwing error to tie the game, sending the teams into extra innings.
At the top of the 10th, the Bobcats went down in order, giving the Chants an opportunity to win.
In the bottom of the inning, Coastal was hitting on all cylinders as Brown, Beach and Weiss each hit singles to load the bases. Freshman outfielder Billy Underwood then stepped up to the plate and with a 1-1 count, hit a walk-off RBI single, winning the game 8-7.
The Bobcats kept to their fight in game three where the game remained scoreless for the first two innings. Texas State was the first to score at the top of the third, as Hollis hit an RBI single for a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the third, Chavers tied the game with an RBI single of his own.
Coastal took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth, as Beach grabbed an RBI single. Weiss followed up in the next at-bat with an RBI bunt and later in the frame, Lucky hit a three-run home run, taking a 6-1 lead.
The Bobcats scored their final run at the top of the sixth off a sac fly from senior outfielder Chase Evans. The Chants came back in the bottom of the inning with a pair of two-RBI singles to go up 10-2.
At the bottom of the seventh, Lucky hit a two-run homer, ending the game and handing the Chants a 12-2 run-rule victory.
After the sweep, Texas State will now focus on the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, gearing up to meet Appalachian State University and the University of Louisiana in pool play.
The Bobcats will face Appalachian State at 7:30 p.m. on May 25 and Louisiana at 7 p.m. on May 26. Both games will be played at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama and will air on ESPN+.