Late Small Ball Undoes Bobcats

by, Joshua Flanagan

Texas State snagged an early lead against No. 1 UL Lafayette Friday morning, going up 1-0 in the third inning and pushing it to a 2-0 lead in the fifth. However, the Ragin’ Cajuns struck back, despite a strong outing from Cory Geisler, with three runs in the eighth on small ball and added an insurance run in the ninth for the 4-2 win over the Bobcats. With the win, ULL is off until 12:30 p.m. Saturday, but the Bobcats will be in action at 6:30 p.m. Friday against No. 8 Arkansas State.

Geisler was outstanding from the mound, going through a stretch in which he and the defense retired 16 consecutive batters. He did not give up a run until the eighth inning which means he threw a combined 16 innings without giving up an earned run against the Ragin’ Cajuns in 2016. He struck out five on 120 pitches.

Nick Perez was able to put the Bobcats up early with an RBI double behind Derek Scheible’s double. In the fifth, Jonathan Ortega knocked in Luke Sherley for the 2-0 lead. But, unfortunately, ULL started the eighth with consecutive singles. From there, three bunts scored three runs for the Ragin’ Cajuns. They added another run in the ninth to cap the game.

WHO STOOD OUT

Cory Geisler / LHP/OF / Senior / San Marcos, Texas

Geisler made his ninth start of the season and threw a gem. After a little bit of trouble in the first, he settled down to retire 16 consecutive batters from the end of the first inning through the end of the sixth. He finished the game with five strikeouts and did not give up a run until the eighth inning. That makes 16 consecutive innings without an earned run allowed for Geisler against UL Lafayette this season.

Nick Perez / IF/RHP / Freshman / Austin, Texas

The freshman knocked his fourth double of the season in his first at bat of the game. He added another hit in the fifth inning for his sixth multi-hit game of the season. He was the only Bobcat with multiple hits against UL Lafayette, finishing 2-for-3 with one of the team’s two RBIs.

SCORING RECAP

–        Bottom 3^rd – Derek Scheible knocked a leadoff double in the third, and, after a groundout moved him to third, Nick Perez brought him in with a big double to left field for an early 1-0 lead. (1 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 2 left on base)

–        Bottom 5^th – Luke Sherley took a hard hit by pitch to lead off the inning with a base runner and went all the way to third base on a Perez hit to right field. He scored on an outfield fielder’s choice from Jonathan Ortega to push the lead up to 2-0 (1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on base)

–        Top 8^th – UL Lafayette started with consecutive singles. After that, the Ragin’ Cajuns laid down a sacrifice bunt that the Bobcats committed an error on. A ULL run scored to cut the deficit in half, 2-1. A bunt single on a squeeze play tied the game, 2-2. The Ragin’ Cajuns scored on another squeeze with a sac bunt to go ahead, 3-2. (3 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 1 left on base)

–        Top 9^th – Two singles and two wild pitches led to another run for UL Lafayette for a 4-2 lead. (1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on base)

NOTES

–        His RBI double in the third was the fourth double of the season for Nick Perez and his first since May 13 against Arkansas State.

–        Texas State’s run in the third inning is the first they’ve scored on ULL’s Nick Lee this season, coming in the ninth inning the Bobcats have faced him.

–        Perez knocked his second hit of the day in the fifth inning for his sixth multi-hit game of the season.

–        With a hit in the sixth inning, Tanner Hill extended his current hitting streak to seven games, the longest current streak on the team and his longest of the season.

–        With his performance on Friday, Cory Geisler went 16 full innings against UL Lafayette this season without giving up an earned run.

NEXT UP

The Bobcats will get back to action against No. 8 Arkansas State at 6:30 p.m. Friday night, playing for their season. The loser of that game will be eliminated while the winner advances to face No. 1 UL Lafayette at 12:30 p.m.