Panthers Outlast Texas State in Extra Innings

by, Joshua Flanagan

SAN MARCOS – Texas State fell behind to Georgia State early, but tied it in the fourth inning. After that, the Panthers jumped again, and the Bobcats trailed most of the way until Luke Sherley let loose of a three-run homer to tie the game, 9-9, in the eighth inning. He forced extra innings, but Georgia State prevailed with an 11^th-inning home run to win, 10-9, and drop Texas State to 26-23 on the season and 13-11 in Sun Belt Conference action.

In addition to his home run, Sherley put together an impressive day, going 4-for-5 with three RBIs, two runs, a double and a walk. It marks the first time in his career he has tallied four hits in a game. He was one of five Bobcats to finish with multiple hits as Granger Studdard knocked four for the first time in his career and Dylan Paul and Ryan Newman added three hits apiece.

With all of the offense, though, the Bobcats left 18 runners stranded in the game. They benefitted from nine walks from Georgia State, but of those nine free bases, only two runners scored.

Jeremy Hallonquist went five innings with five strikeouts while Pasquale Mazzoccoli added four more in 3.1 innings. Quinn Atwoodthrew the 10^th Bobcat strikeout of the game.

WHO STOOD OUT

Luke Sherley / IF / Sophomore / The Woodlands, Texas

The sophomore knocked his third homer of the season and his second of the week. Sunday’s three-run roundtripper tied the game to give the Bobcats hope of a sweep. He struck four hits in a game for the first time in his career and added a walk to get on base five times, scoring twice. He also added a steal.

Granger Studdard / OF / Junior / Buda, Texas

Studdard came to life with a 4-for-5 day, also tallying his first four-hit day of his career. He has 17 multi-hit games and seven multi-RBI games this year. He added two walks and was only retired once in seven trips to the batter’s box. He scored once and struck two RBIs for his first RBIs since April 15 against Little Rock.

SCORING RECAP

–       Top 2^nd – The leadoff hitter reached on an error, and the second hitter took a base on a hit by pitch. A sacrifice bunt moved them to second and third base. The nine-hole hitter knocked a single up the middle to plate both runners for a 2-0 GSU lead. (2 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 left on base)

–       Bottom 3^rd – Ryan Newman knocked a single to right field to put a man on base. Granger Studdard followed with a drive to left centerfield to score Newman from first base and cut the deficit in half, 2-1. After that, Nick Perez knocked a single up the middle to put runners at the corners. (1 hit, 3 runs, 0 errors, 1 left on base)

–       Bottom 4^th – Jared Huber and Jonathan Ortega both drew walks as Dylan Paul took a hit by pitch to load the bases.Tanner Hill drove a single through the left side to plate a run and tie the game, 2-2. (1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3 left on base)

–       Top 5^th – A single and a steal put a man on second base, and the next batter doubled to put runners at second and third with no outs. An infield single after that plated the runner from third to put GSU up, 3-2. Cleanup man Darius Sewell knocked a double, next, to plate two runs and push the lead to 5-2. (3 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on base)

–       Bottom 5^th – Cody Lovejoy and Luke Sherley hit back-to-back singles to put men at first and second. Pinch hitterTheodore Hoffman put the ball in play for a fielder’s choice, but a throwing error allowed Lovejoy to score. (1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 left on base)

–       Top 6^th – Two singles around a sacrifice bunt put runners at the corners for Georgia State. A sacrifice fly to left field plated a run for GSU. (1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 left on base)

–       Bottom 6^th – Paul singled up the middle and went to second on a groundout. Newman next hit a slow-rolling single down the third-base line to put runners at the corners. Studdard drilled a single off the pitcher to plate Paul and pull the Bobcats within two, 6-4. (1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on base)

–       Top 7^th – A single and a walk put two runners on base for Jack Thompson, who hit a three-run homer to push the GSU lead up to 9-4. (3 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on base)

–       Bottom 7^th – Sherley knocked a beautiful double down the third-base line, and Paul brought him in with a base hit to left field to close the gap to 9-5. Hill found the left center gap for a double to plate Paul. (2 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on base)

–       Bottom 8^th – After Studdard led off the inning with a walk and Lovejoy was hit by a pitch, Sherley tied the game, 9-9, with a three-run shot off the left field foul pole. (3 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on base)

–       Top 11^th – Solo homer to left by Darius Sewell gives GSU a 10-9 lead. (1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 left on base)

NOTES

–       With his hit in the third inning, Ryan Newman extended his hitting streak to nine games, the longest current streak on the team. In that stretch, he has a team-high 19 hits thanks to three hits on Sunday. Now he has 15 multi-hit games this season

–       Cody Lovejoy’s hit in the fifth inning is his first hit since April 5 against UTSA. His run scored in the inning is his second in as many games as he stopped an eight-game streak without a run.

–       Granger Studdard’s four hits and two RBIs Sunday gives him 175 hits and 102 RBIs in his career. He has 17 multi-hit games and seven multi-RBI games this year. He brought in his first RBIs since April 15 against Little Rock.

–       Luke Sherley struck four hits for the first time in his career, giving him 15 multi-hit games and seven multi-RBI games this year. He tied his career high in RBIs (3), set just days ago at UTSA.

–       Dylan Paul registered consecutive games with three hits on Saturday and Sunday. He now has four multi-hit games. He scored two runs for just the second time this season, last doing it on March 19 against Appalachian State.

–       Jonathan Ortega drew three walks in the game, the first time he’s achieved that feat. Only one other Bobcat has done it this season: Jared Huber vs. Appalachian State on March 19.

–       Tanner Hill knocked in two RBIs on two hits Sunday. For the season, he has 17 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI games.

NEXT UP

Texas State is off for the midweek this week, but will return to action in a road series at Arkansas State with games at 6 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday in Jonesboro, Ark. After that, the Bobcats will play a midweek game at Texas followed by the final Sun Belt series of the season against UT Arlington.