Chase Mora delivered a walk-off single in the 10th inning to give Texas State baseball (7-4) a 6-5 win against the Grand Canyon Antelopes (7-4) on Sunday at Bobcat Ballpark.
“I’ve been struggling and finally just stayed in the middle of the field, and good things happen when you stay in the middle of the field,” Mora said. “It just shows how much confidence the coaches had in me in that moment after being 0-for-4 going into that at-bat. It’s a confidence boost knowing [my coaches] believe in me.”
The win was much needed for Texas State, as it dropped the first two games of the series.
“[This was] a survival game,” Texas State head coach Steven Trout said. “You can never afford to get swept.”
Alex Valentin shoved in relief, striking out six and allowing one run, two hits and two walks in 6 ⅓ innings in his first appearance since going viral against Texas A&M. Austin Eaton started on the mound and gave up four runs in 3 ⅔ innings.
Samson Pugh, Cameron Thompson and Cole Tabor each had two hits.
Zach Yorke gave the Antelopes a 2-0 lead in the first inning by hitting a two-run home run to left-center.
The Bobcats first scored when Zachary Gingrich walked with the bases loaded in the third inning. Three more runs scored for Texas State in the third, with Ethan Farris reaching on an RBI fielder’s choice and Austin Eaton and Tabor each collecting an RBI single, making the score 4-2.
Grand Canyon quickly erased Texas State’s lead, as Michael Diaz and Troy Sanders each hit an RBI single in the fourth, tying the game.
The Antelopes went up 5-4 when Josh Wakefield, who collected three hits, hit his first Division I home run in the seventh.
With the Bobcats trailing 5-4, Pugh led off the bottom half of the ninth with a double down the right field line. Travis Bragg moved Pugh to third on a sharp groundout to second base before Ryne Farber flew out to center, allowing Pugh to cross the plate and tie the game 5-5.
“I had all the confidence in the world [when Farber came up to bat in the ninth],” Trout said. “That guy is a big-time contact guy.”
Chance Key started on the mound for the Antelopes, gave up one run on four hits and two walks and struck out two in four innings. Barrett Skaugrud pitched 2 ⅔ scoreless innings, Jace Smith threw 1 ⅓ shutout innings and Walter Quinn gave up two runs and suffered the loss.
Texas State’s next matchup will be on the road against the UIW Cardinals (7-4). The first pitch between the Bobcats and the Cardinals is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Tuesday at Sullivan Field in San Antonio. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
