Records were achieved while a miserable four-game losing skid ended as Texas State defeated the Baylor Bears 9-6 Tuesday evening at Irvine-Rasmussen Ballpark.
The victory marked the 200th career win for Head Coach Steven Trout, while the Bobcats (28-21, 10-14 SBC) moved into second place on the regular-season home runs list for the 42-year-old program. This year’s team has blasted an astonishing 85 homers, with seven games left to shoot for the all-time record.
“It’s a really great moment, but to me, it’s all about the players, the coaches, all of the above,” Trout said. “I get the win, but those guys put the time and effort in. [Also], you always love to do these types of things at home, in front of the home crowd.”
The San Marcos faithful watched as the Bobcat offense, which had been lighting up entire pitching staffs in March and April, finally slugged their way out of the recent drought against a Bears (25-23, 11-13 Big 12) squad they had been hoping to avenge a blowout loss that occured earlier in the season.
Junior Bennett Fryman, senior Rashawn Galloway, and junior Jaquae Stewart each went yard in the second, third, and fifth innings, respectively. It was all part of a 12-hit, nine-run scoring onslaught which saw the Bobcats never behind all game long.
Galloway who went 2-5 with three RBI, got robbed of a leadoff homerun in the first inning. Baylor freshman left-fielder Dylan Perez snow-coned the blast into his glove, before colliding with the outfield wall for his trouble.
“It was a really cool moment, that was one of my high school teammates,” Galloway smiled as he spoke of Perez, his fellow Boerne Greyhounds alumni, ”so I gotta give him all the credit, he’s great out there as a freshman.”
The heist didn’t slow down Galloway’s bat, as he knocked one of his trademark doubles to right-center in the sixth, scoring two more runs for the Bobcats. That gives the senior right-fielder 23 doubles on the year, third most in all of DI baseball.
“I want to be a role model on this team and in this program, so that means being consistent in my work, my approach, every day,” Galloway said. “The good Lord has blessed me with a lot of doubles, and some homers as well. I’m grateful for that.”
Freshman pitcher Titan Targac, took the mound in his fourth straight mid-week start. He didn’t disappoint, surrendering a single hit while fanning four in a shutout performance. Despite throwing 47 pitches, Targac only went two innings, necessitating Trout and Co. to stretch bullpen arms over the next seven.
The Bobcat bullpen, for their part, excelled as they combined to strike out eight Baylor Bears while walking only three and giving up only four extra-base hits despite a ninth inning that almost resulted in disaster.
Trout, whose 200 wins have all come as the Bobcats Skipper, isn’t resting on personal records as his team sits on the NCAA tournament bubble and with the Sun Belt Tournament looming in two weeks.
“It’s great, but it’s time to get [win number] 201.”
Texas State, looking to keep contending for a spot in the SBC Tournament, plays next at 6 p.m. on May 8 in Jonesboro, Ark. to face the Arkansas State Red Wolves at Tomlinson Stadium. The game is available on ESPN+.
