TXST-6, UTA-2 Bobcats Notch 30th Victory, Clinch Fifth Seed

JOSHUA FLANAGAN

by, Joshua Flanagan

Bobcats Notch 30th Victory, Clinch Fifth Seed

ARLINGTON, Texas – Texas State put together a strong offensive day behind solid pitching from Jonathan Hennigan to claim a 6-2 victory and clinch the fifth seed in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament. With the win, the Bobcats improve to 30-26 on the season and 16-14 in the Sun Belt. Texas State will play fourth-seeded Troy at 4 p.m. Wednesday in the first round of the SBC Championship Tournament.

Hennigan struck out six batters and gave up just one hit in five innings of work, going the first four innings without a hit against him. After him, Brandon Lewis threw three innings of two-hit ball while Pasquale Mazzoccoli.

The Bobcat bats started fast with a leadoff double from Ortega. Mickey Scott followed with a hit, and Tanner Hill brought him in with a sacrifice fly to start the scoring. Texas State proceeded to leadoff five separate innings with a hit. They scored four runs combined in the second and third innings and added the game’s sixth run in the sixth before UT Arlington finally answered with a run each in the eighth and ninth innings.

Texas State tallied 11 hits in the game with Ortega and Scott finishing with two hits apiece while Derek Scheible led the team on the first three-hit day of his career.

The conference’s championship tournament will start at 9 a.m. Wednesday with games at 12:30 p.m., the Bobcats against Troy at 4 p.m. and the final game of the day at 7:30 p.m.

WHO STOOD OUT

Derek Scheible / OF / Sophomomre / Robstown, Texas

Scheible made it back-to-back games with two doubles, adding a single to his tally on Saturday to finish the series finale with three hits. That marks the first three-hit day of his career as he scored all three times he reached base and knocked in an RBI. He now has four multi-hit games this season.

Jonathan Hennigan / LHP / Junior / Center, Texas

Hennigan helped the Bobcats get started right with four innings of no-hit ball to start the game. He let up the only hit he allowed in the fifth, a single, while he struck out six batters.

SCORING RECAP

–       Top 1^st – Jonathan Ortega wasted no time, getting the Bobcats started with a leadoff double. Mickey Scott hit the next pitch to left field for a single to put runners at the corners. Tanner Hill followed with a sacrifice fly to right field to put the Bobcats up early, 1-0. (1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on base)

–       Top 2^nd – Derek Scheible ran out an infield single to lead off the inning, and Jonathan Ortega knocked a triple to right field to bring him in. (1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on base)

–       Top 3^rd – Hill made it three consecutive innings with a leadoff hit from the Bobcats. Dylan Paul knocked a single after that, and a Scheible double brought in Hill. With runners at second and third base, Luke Sherley brought them in with a base knock to left field for a 5-0 lead. (3 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on base)

–       Top 6^th – Scheible knocked his second double of the day, his third hit, and stole third after that. A base hit from Felipe Rodriguez plated the sixth run of the game for a 6-0 Texas State lead. (1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on base)

–       Bottom 8^th – A double, wild pitch and a single brought in a run for UT Arlington. (1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on base)

NOTES

–       Texas State is 16-0 when scoring in the first inning, 24-7 when scoring first in a game, and 14-0 when leading after one inning.

–       Jonathan Hennigan notched six strikeouts for his eighth appearance with four strikeouts or more this season.

–       With a hit in the first inning, Mickey Scott now has a hit in six consecutive games. He knocked his second hit in the seventh for his fourth multi-hit game of the season. He now has 11 hits in the past six games.

–       Jonathan Ortega knocked a hit in both the first and second innings for his team-leading 19^th multi-hit game of the year. His second hit was his team-leading third triple of the season.

–       Derek Scheible knocked two doubles for the second consecutive game, his first two games ever with two doubles. It was also the first three-hit game of his career. With his first double on his second hit of the game, he has four multi-hit games this season, including in back-to-back games to finish the UTA series.

–       In the third inning, Luke Sherley knocked in two RBIs on a base hit. It’s his second game of the series with multiple RBIs, the first time he has achieved that feat in a series this season. He now has seven multi-RBI games this year.

NEXT UP

Texas State is set to host the Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament this week, starting with a Family Night, Home Run Derby and Awards Ceremony on Tuesday night with the tournament to start Wednesday morning. The No. 5 Bobcats will play the 4 p.m. game against No. 4 Troy on Wednesday with the rest of the first round games scheduled for 9 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.