A promising start and an early lead quickly dissipated for the Texas State baseball team (6-4) Saturday afternoon at Bobcat Ballpark. Texas State pitching allowed nine runs on 10 hits en route to a disappointing 9-2 loss to Grand Canyon (7-3), dropping its second game of the weekend and the series with the Lopes.

“It’s going to take some guys to step up and guys to have heart [to win],” Texas State head coach Steven Trout said. “ We have to find a way to come out and take some pride in winning at home.”

Through three innings, all was well for the Bobcats. Texas State scored one in the first courtesy of a sacrifice fly off the bat of Austin Eaton and scored again in the third on an RBI single from Zach Gingrich. Meanwhile, Bobcat starter Sam Hall held the Lopes off the board as Texas State took a 2-0 lead into the fourth.

Grand Canyon pulled within a run in the fourth with a sac fly of their own to make it 2-1. The fifth inning is when things came together for the Lopes and fell apart for the Bobcats. Two base hits, an RBI groundout and a wild pitch plated four runs for the Lopes, immediately flipping the scoreboard to 5-2 in favor of Grand Canyon.

After getting on the board in the fourth and taking the lead in the fifth, GCU continued to score. The Lopes scored two in the sixth, one in the seventh and one more in the eighth for good measure, bringing their total to nine runs.

Texas State failed to follow suit and match runs with GCU. As a matter of fact, the Bobcats failed to pick up another hit after the fourth inning. GCU reliever Elijah Higginbottom worked innings five through nine and didn’t allow a hit in his outing, putting a stamp on the kind of day it was for the Bobcats at the plate.

Texas State will look to salvage game three of the series and avoid being swept on Sunday. First pitch of the series finale is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Bobcat Ballpark. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.