The collective effort of their pitching staff and timely hitting from their offense helped push the Texas State Bobcats to a 4-1 victory over the Binghamton Bearcats on a cold, drizzly Friday evening at Bobcat Ballpark.
Jackson Teer started in what was his debut with the Bobcats, tossing 3 2/3 innings and striking out seven, only giving up three hits and one earned run to an inside-the-park home run to centerfielder Matt Bolton. Texas State head coach Steven Trout utilized relievers Braylen Timmins, Bryson Dudley, Matthew Tippie and Carson Laws.
“[Our pitchers] didn’t work ahead all the time, but they got really good stuff,” Trout said. “They made some pitches, more importantly when it counted…they executed when the moment was the biggest.”
The Bobcats took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning thanks to timely hitting from shortstop Ryne Farber, designated hitter Austin Eaton and centerfielder Ethan Farris. Farber led off with a hard double to right before stealing third base, allowing Eaton to beat out a potential inning-ending double play to score the Bobcats’ first run of the season. Farris then cracked a hard single to centerfield following a Zachary Gingrich walk to score Eaton from second.
The story of the game, however, should lie with Texas State’s pitching staff holding down Binghamton in a game where they bent but did not break.
“I think [pitching was] our strength going into the season…we have good starting arms…we think we have some big fire in the bullpen as well,” Trout said.
Laws made his Bobcat debut in the top of the ninth inning, garnering two strikeouts en route to earning the save.
In the bottom of the second inning, catcher Rashawn Galloway exited the game due to an injury concerning his wrist.
“He took a swing [and he felt pain], which is never a good sign. We’ll get him re-evaluated and see what happens,” Trout said.
Binghamton’s bats went cold at the wrong times. While they managed to get on base frequently, they stranded nine runners on base compared to Texas State’s five.
The Bobcats’ victory marked their seventh consecutive year winning their opening-day game. They last lost their season opener to Oklahoma State in 2018.
The Bobcats will look to continue their strong start to the season and win the series against Binghamton when junior pitcher Sam Hall takes the mound against freshman Brady Bouchard in game two of the series at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow at Bobcat Ballpark. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
