Texas State Blanks Lumberjacks In Series Opener

Bobcats kickoff weekend bout with a triumph over Stephen F. Austin.

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State baseball team opened a weekend series with a 13-0 victory over Stephen F. Austin Friday night at Bobcat Ballpark.

The Bobcats (4-4) took the first meeting between the two programs since 2012, and the maroon and gold is 13-5 over the Lumberjacks (0-8) in the last 18 meetings.

The game was secured in the second inning when TXST plated nine runs to pull away from the visitors. The tally was the highest in a single frame since Texas State scored 10 times in the eighth against Prairie View A&M on May 18, 2010. The Bobcats added four more runs in the fourth to complete the scoring.

The big second frame saw 15 different batters come to the plate. Seniors Luke Sherley and Derek Scheible both hit home runs, and classmate Dylan Paul scored twice.

Scheible finished the game with a career-high-tying four RBIs, while Sherley drove in three teammates. Paul was 2-for-3 with three total runs scored, while senior Jared Huber and sophomore Cole Coffey both scored twice. Huber also tallied two RBIs, and junior Jonathan Ortega was 3-for-4.

Sophomore Nicholas Fraze (2-1) did not allow a run for the second-straight outing. He pitched 7.0 scoreless innings and conceded just three hits while striking out six and walking three. Junior Kyle Bradford tossed a clean eighth inning, striking out two in the process. Fellow junior Wes Engle was perfect in the ninth, also adding a K.

SFA’s three hits were sprinkled between Nick Daley, Jake Georgiades and Eric DeJesus. Cole Ridgely (0-2) lasted 1.1 innings on the hill before being relieved by Josh Ponder. Ridgely conceded eight runs on seven hits, while Ponder also gave up a run and recorded just one out. The visitors utilized three additional arms in the contest.

The Bobcats and Lumberjacks are set to continue the series at 4 p.m. March 3.
Score by Innings                    R  H  E

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Stephen F. Austin… 000 000 000 –  0  3  1

Texas State……… 090 400 00X – 13 13  0

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Win – Fraze, N. (2-1). Loss – Ridgely, C. (0-2). Save – None.