TXST Uses Extra Innings To Clinch Series Over Mavericks

Friday’s victory did not come easy for Texas State, as the home team kept the Bobcats off the scoreboard for 25 of a necessary 27 outs.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Texas State baseball team came from behind to defeat UTA 5-1 in 10 innings Friday night at Clay Gould Ballpark.

The Bobcats (27-26-1, 15-14 SBC) collected their fourth-straight Sun Belt Conference triumph and earned their second series win in a row.

The Mavericks (21-32, 11-18 SBC) extended their current losing streak to nine games and have now lost four consecutive series to TXST.

With the triumph, the maroon and gold moved into sixth place in the current SBC standings by a half game over Little Rock with one day left in the regular season.

If the Bobcats hold on to that position, they will earn a coveted bye past the opening-round, single-elimination portion of next week’s Sun Belt Conference Championship.

If they lose and the Trojans win Saturday, then TXST will be the tournament’s No. 7 seed and will face the No. 10 seed on May 22.

Friday’s victory did not come easy for Texas State, as the home team kept the Bobcats off the scoreboard for 25 of a necessary 27 outs. The lone run for the Mavericks came in the sixth, when three-straight one-out singles brought around Christian Hollie.

Junior Ryan Newman began the ninth with a one-out single. He advanced to second thanks to an error on the play and moved over to third on a passed ball.

Senior Jared Huber laid down a perfect suicide squeeze bunt that allowed Newman to score and tie the game. UTA advanced the game-winning run to third base in the bottom of the ninth, but Hollie struck out to end the threat.

Texas State then erupted for four runs in the top of the 10th to seal the come-from-behind victory.

Newman finished the evening with three hits, while Huber and juniors Jaylen Hubbard and Jonathan Ortega all had two hits.

Junior Braden Pearson (3-2) tossed 2.0 scoreless innings of relief to earn the win on the mound. He allowed two hits, while striking out two and walking one.

Junior starter Connor Reich picked up a no-decision after giving up just one run on eight hits across 5.1 frames.

Junior Kyle Bradford and sophomore Broc Bosse bridged the gap between Reich and Pearson by not conceding any runs on just two hits in 2.2 combined innings.

Omar Salinas paced the home side with a 3-for-5 effort at the dish. R.J. Williams, Noah Vaughan and Easton Johnson all had two hits.

UTA starting pitcher Ka’ikepono Anderson did not allow a run on four hits in 5.2 innings. He struck out five and walked just one.

Logan Austin tossed the next 2.2 innings and left after conceding one run on three hits, while striking out three and walking one.

Usually reliable closer Daniel James (1-5) suffered the loss after giving up four runs on three hits in 0.2 innings.

UTA outhit Texas State 12-10 but also led in errors, 3-0. The Bobcats improved to 2-2 in extra innings this year.

The regular-season finale for both clubs is slated for a 2 p.m. start May 19. Texas State will throw sophomore Zachary Leigh, while the Mavericks will counter with Reid Petty.

Score by Innings                      R  H  E

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Texas State……… 000 000 001 4 –  5 10  0

UTA…………….. 000 001 000 0 –  1 12  3

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Win – Pearson, B. (3-2). Loss – James, D. (1-5). Save – None.