Late Offense Falls Short, Bobcat Baseball

by, Joshua Flanagan

SAN MARCOS – Texas State gave up two runs in the opening inning and three more on a home run in the sixth for a 5-0 deficit, but Dylan Paul brought the Bobcats back into the game with a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth. Unfortunately, Texas State couldn’t get anything else in the inning and dropped the game to Sun Belt Conference opponent Troy, 5-3, to fall to .500 on the season and in Sun Belt action (22-22, 10-10).

Jaylen Hubbard put together a day for the Bobcats, knocking three hits in the game for his second three-hit performance in as many games. Ryan Newman added two hits while Paul sent his second homer of the season out of the Ballpark to pull the Bobcats within two.

In addition, Cory Geisler struck out seven while Joe Powell added two more strikeouts and did not give up a hit in three innings of work.

The Bobcats will welcome fans and their dogs for Sunday’s Bark in the Park with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m. Sunday.

WHO STOOD OUT

Jaylen Hubbard / OF/IF / R-Freshman / Missouri City, Texas

For the second game in a row, Hubbard notched three hits in the game. He now has four three-hit games on the season and 12 multi-hit games this year. To make it even more impressive, he hit all three parts of the field, going to left field on his first hit, knocking one up the middle in his second at bat, and sending the double to right field in the eighth.

Dylan Paul / OF/IF/C / Sophomore / Katy, Texas

The sophomore hit his second home run of the season to rack up Texas State’s only RBIs of the game on Saturday with his three-run shot. He did it in a pinch hit situation on his first at bat of the game. He has hit for three RBIs or more two other times this season.

Joe Powell / RHP / R-Junior / Dallas, Texas

Powell entered the game to start the seventh inning and did good work across the final three innings. He struck out two batters and didn’t give up a hit against nine batters, retiring them all in order. With the performance, he dropped his season ERA down to 3.65.

SCORING RECAP

• Top 1^st – Troy led off with a triple. A single to right center after that brought in the run. Two more singles after that loaded the bases. Troy’s seventh hitter of the inning drew a bases-loaded walk to plate a run and put the Trojans up, 2-0. (2 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 3 left on base)
• Top 6^th – A single and a walk put two men on base for Troy, and leadoff man Brandon Lockridge knocked a three-run homer with two outs to put Troy up, 5-0. (3 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 0 left on base)
• Bottom 9^th – Derek Scheible and Mickey Scott hit back-to-back singles, and Dylan Paul followed with his second home run of the season to score three runs. (3 runs, 4 hits, 1 error, 2 left on base)

NOTES

• Ryan Newman went 2-for-5 to notch his eighth and ninth hits in the past four games. He now has 11 multi-hit games this season.
• Jaylen Hubbard continues to hit well with his second consecutive game with three hits. He now has 12 multi-hit games this season and four three-hit games.
•  Getting his first start as a batter Saturday was Wes Engle as a designated hitter for the Bobcats.
• Since taking over as a weekend starter, Cory Geisler has been strong for the Bobcats on the mound. He hasn’t thrown less than five strikeouts in his last six appearances with seven punchouts on Saturday. Combined, he has 40 strikeouts in his last six appearances for an average of 6.67 strikeouts per appearance.
• Dylan Paul hit the second home run of his career to give Texas State 36 home runs this season and six Bobcats with multiple homers.

NEXT UP

The Bobcats complete the series against Troy at 12 p.m. Sunday while welcoming fans and their dogs to Bobcat Ballpark for Bark in the Park. Jonathan Hennigan will be on the mound for Texas State against Houston Mabray for the Trojans. After that, Texas State will travel to UTSA for a road game on Tuesday.