Texas State Baseball Makes History Friday

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State baseball team made history in a Sun Belt Conference split with Arkansas State Friday night at Bobcat Ballpark.

The Red Wolves (13-13, 3-5 SBC) won the first game 13-7, but the Bobcats (17-10, 6-2 SBC) were able to even the series with a 16-7 triumph in the nightcap. The victory for TXST was the first ever at home against A-State (1-5).

The triumph also helped the maroon and gold finish March with a 14-4 record. The .778 winning percentage is the highest for any month of March in school history. The 14 victories also tied the school record for most wins in the third month of the year (1992).

Junior Derek Scheible led the Bobcats at the plate with a 5-for-11 day that included his career-high sixth home run of the season. Sophomore Ryan Newman went 4-for-9 with his first triple of the season.

The Bobcats and Red Wolves are slated to wrap up the series at 1 p.m. April 1 at Bobcat Ballpark.

ARKANSAS STATE 13, TEXAS STATE 7

Texas State plated four runs in the first inning to take an early advantage, but Arkansas State slowly crept back into the game before taking the lead for good in the sixth.

The visitors scored twice in the fourth to cut the deficit to 4-2. They then added three in the sixth, four in the seventh, three in the eighth and a final insurance marker in the ninth to pull away in the opener.

Junior Luke Sherley went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Scheible scored twice and finished 2-for-5 at the dish. Junior Jared Huber was 2-for-4 with two RBIs as the Bobcats outhit the Red Wolves 10-9.

Sophomore Connor Reich (1-2) was tagged with the loss after allowing six runs on six hits in 6.1 frames. He fanned seven and walked three. Sophomore Brayden Theriot, senior Joe Powell and true freshman Shane Daughety also saw time on the hill.

A-State starting pitcher Bryan Ayers was pulled after just 2.0 frames and was on the hook for the loss. He conceded four unearned runs on four hits, while walking two. Bo Ritter (1-1) earned the come-from-behind win by not giving up a run on just two hits in 3.1 frames. Tanner Kirby tossed the last 3.2 frames and gave up three runs on four hits to collect the save.

Joe Schrimpf, Garret Rucker and Justin Felix all belted two hits. Felix drove in four and scored three times. Schrimpf scored four times.

TEXAS STATE 16, ARKANSAS STATE 7

The Bobcats again took a big lead early, but this time the home side was able to build on that advantage and earn a split on the day.

They scored three times in the first inning and plated four runs each in the third and fifth frames. Texas State led 15-2 after seven innings, but a five-spot in the top of the eighth from the Red Wolves managed to cut the deficit to single digits.

Scheible and Newman both finished 3-for-6. Scheible tied his career high with four RBIs. The SBC’s leader in runs scored added three more to his tally and has now touched home safely 33 times. Newman drove in two runs and later scored. Sophomore Jonathan Ortega went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Sophomore Jacob Almendarez also finished 2-for-4 and scored a career-high three times.

Sophomore Wes Engle fell one out shy of the minimum required to earn the victory on the mound. He lasted 4.2 frames and allowed two runs on five hits. He struck out two and walked eight. Senior Brandon Courville (1-2) recorded his first victory for TXST after allowing five runs on seven hits across 3.1 innings of relief. He struck out three and walked one. True freshman Zachary Leigh pitched a clean ninth.

Peyton Culbertson (2-3) only lasted 3.0 innings and took the loss. He exited after giving up eight runs on nine this. Zachary Patterson tossed an inning of relief and gave up four runs on two hits. Chase Nix threw the final 4.0 frames and gave up four runs of his own on four hits while, walking five.

Jake Bakamus went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and one run. Jeremy Brown and Derek Birginske also recorded two hits.

TEXAS STATE COACH TY HARRINGTON

Opening statement…

“When you win games, you have to turn the page the next day. The same goes for win you lose. In doubleheaders, you really have to turn your focus quickly. You really only get about 15 minutes to move on and put the previous game behind you. (Arkansas State) did a great job in the first game of taking advantage of their runners in scoring position. They got some balls that landed and they hit some balls hard. Before you know it, the game got away from us. So we had to talk to the team about bouncing back and winning the second game.”

On the difference between the first and second games…

“Bottom line in us winning the second game is we pitched better. We needed to bounce back and find a way to win the second game, and we did. It wasn’t the prettiest game you’re going to watch, but the key thing this time of year is to find ways to win.”

On Derek Scheible’s performance…

“Derek has moments where he sees the ball well and gets himself in the right position. He’s an electric player. Hopefully he will take the confidence from today with him into tomorrow and continue having success. Oklahoma State couldn’t get him out. There’s moments like that where we need him to be that way, particularly in front of those other guys.”

Score by Innings                    R  H  E

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Arkansas State…… 000 203 431 – 13  9  1

Texas State……… 400 000 021 –  7 10  2

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Win – Ritter, B. (1-1). Loss – Reich, C. (1-2). Save – Kirby, T. (2).

Score by Innings                    R  H  E

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Arkansas State…… 010 010 050 –  7 12  3

Texas State……… 314 040 31X – 16 15  0

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Win – Courville, B. (1-2). Loss – Culbertson (2-3). Save – None.