Appalachian State graduate student first baseman Drew Holderbach hit a go-ahead two-run home run as Texas State baseball (11-9, 2-1 Sun Belt Conference) dropped the series finale to Appalachian State (12-6, 1-2 Sun Belt Conference) by a score of 3-2 Sunday afternoon at Bobcat Ballpark.
Despite the loss, the Bobcats clinched the series by winning the first two games.
The Mountaineers’ victory came in a game that was overtaken by bad weather. The original 1:00 p.m. start time was pushed back to 3:05, and a nearly two-hour rain delay occurred during the sixth inning.
Both offenses went back and forth, as Texas State took the early lead on an RBI triple from junior left fielder Daylan Pena in the fourth inning and was quickly responded to by an RBI single from senior center fielder Banks Tolley in the fifth inning.
Junior third baseman Aaron Lugo followed up with an RBI sacrifice fly in the sixth to put Texas State up 2-1 before Holderbach responded with the eventual kiss of death for the Bobcats, making it a 3-2 game.
Mountaineers senior pitcher Dante Chirico pitched a solid game, allowing one run on two hits, three walks and two strikeouts in five innings of work. Senior pitcher Grey LaSpaluto collected the win in two innings of relief.
On the mound, Texas State senior pitcher Jonathan Martinez suffered the loss, as he allowed the two-run home run to Holderbach.
Sophomore pitcher Sam Hall was a bright spot for the Bobcats on Sunday, allowing one run on four hits, one walk, and two strikeouts in 4 ⅔ innings of work.
Head Coach Steven Trout said Sam Hall was battling through an illness.
“He was sick two days ago [so] that’s why we had to bump him to Sunday [instead of Saturday],” Trout said. “You saw his [velocity] was 86/87 [miles per hour] instead of his typical 90/93 [miles per hour], but he competed and threw strikes.”
The Bobcats will look to get back in the win column with a matchup against I-35 rival the University of Texas at San Antonio (10-10) Tuesday night.
The first pitch between Texas State and the University of Texas at San Antonio is scheduled to be thrown at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 19, at Bobcat Ballpark. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
