LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Texas State was able to salvage a tough series against UALR with an impressive 10-4 victory in the series finale Sunday afternoon. Ben McElroy started the Bobcats off with a two-run homer in the second inning and Cedric Vallieres sent one out in the third to give Texas State and early 3-1 lead. The Bobcats didn’t look back after that, improving to 17-17-1 on the year and 9-7 in Sun Belt play.
Jeremy Hallonquist only allowed one earned run in the Sunday start, lasting 5.2 innings to get his fourth win of the season for the Bobcats. After that, Joe Powell, Pasquale Mazzoccoli and Blake Whitter finished out the game with the help of a big lead. Whitter did not give up a hit in 1.1 innings of work to close out the game.
In the top of the second, Jared Huber knocked a single to make it five consecutive trips to the plate in which he wasn’t retired, dating back to Saturday’s game. With Huber on base, lefty hitter McElroy knocked his third home run of the year over the right field fence to put Texas State up 2-0. The Trojans cut the lead in half with a run in the bottom of the inning, but Vallieres answered with his team-leading eighth home run of the year in the third to make it 3-1.
Colby Targun knocked the first two of his four RBI in the game in the fifth inning to extend the lead to 5-1. After Luke Sherley and Vallieres earned walks, Targun knocked a single to right field to plate them both and give Texas State the four-run lead.
The Bobcats broke the game open in the sixth inning, taking advantage of four walks and knocking three hits to score five runs in the inning and go up by a score of 10-1. Huber led off the inning with his second hit of the day, then four of the next five Bobcats earned walks to score two runs. After that, Targun knocked another single to right field for two more runs, and David Paiz followed with a two-out single up the middle to give Texas State a nine-run lead.
That lead proved to be insurmountable for the UALR Trojans. They were able to score a run in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings but it would not be enough to overcome the Bobcats. Texas State keeps the team’s streak alive of not being swept in a series yet this season.
McElroy led the team from the plate with a 2-for-3 performance with two runs scored and his two RBI off the home run. Huber and Targun also finished with two hits apiece, with Targun tallying four RBI and Huber scoring twice. Paiz, Tanner Hill, Granger Studdard and Vallieres all knocked a hit in the game.
Next up for the Bobcats is the third installment of the I-35 Rivalry against UTSA. Texas State will host the Roadrunners at 6 p.m. Tuesday followed by a series against UL Lafayette at Bobcat Ballpark over the weekend.
Women’s Golf Competes For Sun Belt Championship
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State women’s golf team has made the NCAA Tournament three straight years as an at-large team and looks to make it four in a row this year. The Bobcats are hoping to not have to rely on being an at-large selection, and will control their destiny if they win the 2015 Sun Belt Conference Tournament Monday-Wednesday this week in Loxley, Ala.
“We are very excited to get to Steelwood Country Club to compete for the Sun Belt Championship,” head coach Mike Akers said. “The ladies are very hungry after last year. We have advanced to the NCAA postseason the past 3 years with an “at large” bid. This is not an easy feat. This is the year we need to take care of business at conference and bring home a championship.”
Last year the Bobcats finished runner up at the event to Troy. Then-senior Mara Puisite was co-medalist at the event as she tied for the title with a 54-hole score of 902 before falling in a playoff. Puisite was then injured before the NCAA Tournament which means that the five players who competed in the NCAA Tournament last year, will be the same five that compete in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament this year.
“Confidence the most important facet in the game of golf,” Akers said. “Our team has gained confidence this spring. We know we can go low and all 5 of our players have shown signs of greatness this spring. The school record breaking performance in Arizona was a huge moment.”
The tournament Akers referenced was the Mountain View Intercollegiate where the Bobcats dominated the first round. The team led by six shots after the first round, shooting a school record 9-under-par 279. It continued to be a welcome event for the team, after setting school records the last team they were in Tuscon. In 2013, Krista Puisite set the school record with a three round total of 209, and winning the event. As a team, the Bobcats fired an even-par 288 in the second round, the best in relation to par in program history at the time.
Coming into the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, Texas State, Troy and UALR are grouped together as the top three teams in the league. They each rank No. 83, 85, and 86 in the Golfstat.com rankings nationally, and represent the best of the league. The three will tee off together in the first round on Monday morning.
Live scoring of the event is available on Golfstat.com. 18 holes will be played each of the three days and the Bobcats tee off beginning at 9:40 a.m., Monday.
Walk-Off Hit Leads Softball To Series Victory
| Jen Lawson, Assistant Sports Information Director
SAN MARCOS, Texas – A walk-off double by Ariel Ortiz in the bottom of the seventh inning led the Texas State softball team to a 4-3 victory on Sunday against the Troy Trojans. With the victory Sunday, the Bobcats took the series, 2-1, over the Trojans. Texas State improves to 24-19 overall and 8-6 in Sun Belt Conference play.
The wins this weekend clinched a spot for the Bobcats in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Tournament scheduled to take place on May 6-9 at the Bobcat Softball Stadium.
Ortiz finished the day with a 2-for-4 showing from the plate and an RBI. Her double in the bottom of the seventh was her team-leading 16th double of the 2015 season.
Kaylee Garner earned the victory Sunday and improves to 5-3 on the year. Garner put in 4.1 innings of relief work for the Bobcats while allowing zero runs and striking out three.
Troy put up a one spot in the top of the second inning after stringing together a pair of hits by Carli Kayler and Kate Benton. The Bobcats responded in the bottom half of the inning thanks to Kimberlin Naivar with a double to left center. Kendall Wiley led the inning off with a walk before Naivar connected on her pitch to send Wiley home.
The tie didn’t last long as the Trojans quickly added two in the top of the third inning. Texas State had a chance to return the favor in the third as Kelli Baker led the inning off with a walk and Ortiz singled through the left side to put a pair of runners on with no outs. The Troy defense proceeded to make two solid plays, first with a line drive to third to get the force out at third and second a line drive straight to the pitcher who then threw Courtney Harris out at first for a double play.
Two scoreless innings later the Bobcat bats struck again. In the bottom of the sixth, Harris notched her first hit of the day with a single through the left side. After being moved to second on a ground ball by Kortney Koroll, Harris was sent home with a single through the left side by Wiley. The hot bats continued for the ‘Cats as Taylor Webb promptly stepped up to the plate to hit a double on the first pitch to left center field, scoring the third run of the day for Texas State.
In the bottom of the seventh, Baker became the first Bobcat on base in the inning after reaching on an error by the Troy shortstop. Ortiz then launched a double off the centerfield wall that ricocheted away from the centerfielder, allowing Baker to make her way home for the game-winning run.
Four of the seven Bobcat hits on the day were doubles. Texas State has hit 55 doubles so far this season.
Texas State will remain at home on Wednesday for a single non-conference game against Houston Baptist. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Bobcat Softball Stadium. Live stats, live audio, and live video will be available at www.txstatebobcats.com. For ticket information, fans can go online at www.txstatebobcats.com/tickets or call the Texas State Athletics Ticket Office at 512-245-2272.
Men’s Golf Finishes Fourth At Texas A&M
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas State men’s golf team played its final tournament before the Sun Belt Conference Championship, playing in College Station for a 36 hole event hosted by Texas A&M Sunday.
The Bobcats finished fourth in the one day event, having three players place inside the top 15. Justin Newby led the way with a two round total of 145, good for ninth place. Tyler Saunders and Torbjorn Johansen each tied for 15th with a 36 hole total of 147. Saunders was in second place following the morning round, finishing with a 3-under-par 69.
The Bobcats will now have a week off before heading to Destin, Fla., to take part in the Sun Belt Championship. The winner of the event is given an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, which will take place in May.
Bobcats Rack Up 12 First-Place Finishes
SAN ANTONIO – Texas State stacked up 12 first-place finishes in an impressive showing at the UIW Cardinal Invitational this weekend on the campus of Incarnate Word.
The Bobcat women’s performance in the 800-meter run stood out on the weekend. Freshman Esther Oyetunde led the way with a first place finish, recording a time of 2:10.49 to move into first place in the Sun Belt Conference with a season and personal best. While Oyetunde took first, the Bobcats took four of the top five spots in the race.
Amber Gilmore, after running a personal best last weekend, broke her own personal record in the 800m this week with a 2:10.99 to take the second slot in the conference. Behind her was Kimberly Krtinich in third with a season best time of 2:14.87, just less than five seconds faster than her previous season best. Nikki Sanchez finished fifth at 2:16.96. Both Krtinich and Sanchez jump into the top 10 in the SBC at sixth and ninth respectively.
In addition to Oyetunde and Gilmore, a few more Bobcats set personal bests on the track. Nia Dorner ran a season best 12.08 in the 100-meter dash to jump into the top 10 in the conference. Erika Martin ran 24.70 in the 200-meter dash to also break the top 10 in the Sun Belt with a personal best.
Victoria Johnson, in her freshman season, set a new personal record with a time of 14.64 in the 100-meter hurdles, finishing second in the race behind teammate Antonisha Stewart. Abby Hani took third place in the race to make it a clean sweep for the Bobcats in the event. Johnson improves to eight in the conference.
In women’s throws, Julie Lange continues to improve. She set a personal record in hammer throw with a toss of 52.11 meters (170-11.75) to finish second at the meet behind teammate Talore Kelly. The distance improves Lange’s fifth-ranked standing in the conference. After her, Morgan Adams took third in the event. Lange took first in both shot put and discus at the meet while Kelly threw the shot put 15.30 meters (50-2.5) to finish second at the meet and set a new season best. It improves her standing to fourth in the conference.
Courtney Johnson tied her career best in the high jump at 1.65 meters (5-5) while Hani and Erika Martin won the other jumps events, taking long jump and triple jump respectively. Martin won triple jump with her first career triple jump. Sydni Willis added another first place finish for the Bobcats when she won the 400-meter hurdles.
On the men’s side, Jordan Huckaby won the shot put and hammer throw events. Roman Rodriguez finished second in shot put but set a new personal record in hammer throw with a distance of 53.58 meters (175-9.75) to jump into the top 10 of the SBC. Meanwhile, Kole Knutson won first in discus with a season best throw of 51.00 meters (167-4.25) to better his standing in the Sun Belt Conference.
Former Texas State football player Ben Ijah, in just his second week of competition and making his first triple jump, won the event at the meet with a distance of 14.50 meters (47-7). That puts him in eighth in the conference.
On the track, De’Marcus Porter keeps getting better every week. He ran a time of 10.56 in the 100-meter dash, a season best for the freshman putting him fifth in the Sun Belt. In the men’s 800-meter, Tyrone Jackson finished just behind De’Quad Binder with a season best time of 1:52.58, just more than two seconds faster than his previous best in 2015. It’s his fastest 800m time since the 2013 outdoor season.
In the 1,500-meter run, Alec Saucedo set a new personal best by nearly two seconds, running a 4:00.19. In his first competitive 1,500-meter run, freshman Jose Angel Gonzalez ran a 4:05.14.
Texas State will return to action next week in Baton Rouge, La., at the LSU Alumni Gold track meet and will return home after that to host the Bobcat Classic on April 25.