Brady Boles drove in Austin Mungia for the walk-off victory after a single base knock as the Texas State Bobcats (16-8) (3-3 Sunbelt) defeated UTRGV Vaqueros (13-12) 8-7 Tuesday night at Bobcat Ballpark.
The Bobcats’ bats were hot after Rashawn Galloway extended his hitting streak to 17 games after going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
Chase Mora finished with two base knocks, going 2-for-4 with a double and scoring two runs in the game. Both Jackson Cotton and Dawson Park hit their team-leading seventh home runs, with Parks coming in the bottom of the 4th and Cotton’s falling in the bottom of the 7th.
Wade Cooper led the statsheet with the win, now 2-0 this season, after pitching two innings, striking out three, and allowing three unearned runs.
Junior Will Canalichio, left-handed pitcher, got the nod to start against the Vaqueros, lasting 2.1 innings, allowing three hits and three runs. Cade Smith recorded two strikeouts in 2.2 innings, with both Titan Targarc and Alizaeh Gutierrez tossing an inning apiece.
The Vaqueros would jump out to a 3-0 lead as they scored a run apiece in the first three innings.
In the fourth, the Bobcats score two runs against the Vaqueros after the first came when Dawson Park blasted a 3-2 pitch over the left field wall and over Bobcat Softball Stadium with two runners on base. After Jaquae Stewart was hit by a pitch, Ethan Farris stepped up to the plate and laced a double to right-center that brought Stewart from 1st to home.
Mora sent the first pitch in the fifth down the right field line for a double. Cotton would then be caught slipping, and Galloway immediately followed with a two-RBI double to left center to put TXST in position over the vaqueros.
Galloway advanced to third on a wild pitch and would go on to score on a groundout back up the middle off the bat of Manny Salas to put the Bobcats up 5-3.UTRGV would get a run back in the sixth when Diego Villescas hit a solo homer to right-center.
The seventh began with Mora hitting a single through the left side and then moving into scoring position on a Boles sacrifice bunt. A 0-1 offering to Cotton was sent over the right field wall to extend Texas State’s lead to 7-4.
A wild pitch on a swinging third strike and a fielding error aided the Vaqueros in scoring three times in the top of the ninth to tie the game.
The bottom of the frame saw Clayton Namken lead off and reach base partway to a throwing error by the third baseman. Munguia entered the game as a pinch runner and stole second to move into scoring position.
The senior catcher would take off for third on a 1-2 pitch to Boles, who hit a chopper back up the middle. The UTRGV shortstop made a diving play to prevent the ball from going into the outfield and made a throw to the plate from his knees. The ball pulled the catcher off the plate, which allowed Munguia to slide into home plate easily for the walk-off victory.
Next up for the Bobcats is a trip to Atlanta to take on Georgia State this weekend for a three-game series that begins on Friday at 5 p.m. The games will be available to watch on ESPN+.
