May 20, 2005

Box Score

BEAUMONT - Bobby Sawicki struck out four batters and pitched a complete game, giving the senior right-hander a Bobcat career-record 235 strike outs as the Bobcats beat Lamar 5-1 Friday night.

Lamar (34-21, 15-11 SLC) jumped on Sawicki in the first, scoring a run on a Michael Ambort RBI single, but Sawicki suffocated the Cardinal offense for the game's remainder, tossing nine complete innings in his seventh win of the year.

Sawicki got his record-tying first strike out in the first inning, fanning Adrian Cantu, and his record-breaking second K of the game came in the fourth as Jeremy Gray went down on strikes. Sawicki nailed down two more strike outs in the game's next five innings to push his career total to 235.

Texas State (32-23, 15-11 SLC) got its first runs in the second, when Elliott Babcock scored on an Adrian Cantu fielding error, and Jose Rodriguez scored on a Dawid Bednarek RBI single to center.

Texas State waited until the eighth to add insurance to the 2-1 lead, scoring three runs in the game's eighth frame.

The inning started with a Nolan Mast double into left field, followed by a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly from Kyle Anson to get the inning's first run.

Babcock then drew a walk for the Bobcats, followed by a pair of singles through the right side for Rodriguez and pinch-hitter Luke Cannon to load the bases. After a strike out, Bednarek lifted a shallow fly ball into right that fell between three Cardinal defenders, enabling Babcock and Rodriguez to score and Cannon to advance to third on the single.

The Bobcats led 5-1 through eight, and Sawicki slammed the door on the game's remainder to get the win.

The complete game was Sawicki's 12th in his Bobcat career, which is sixth best on the Texas State career list. The win was also a milestone for head coach Ty Harrington, as the Bobcat victory gave Harrington his 200th win as the head coach of the `Cats.

Offensively, Mast went two-for-five with a run scored for Texas State, while Dominic Ramos was also two-for-five on the night. Bednarek had the banner night for the Bobcats, going two-for-four with three RBIs in the win.

On a defensive note, Texas State turned a season-high three double plays in the 5-1 win over the Cardinals.

Texas State and Lamar will decide the series Saturday with a 1 p.m., first pitch at Vincent-Beck Stadium in Beaumont. The game will air live on 89.9 FM, KTSW, as well as world-wide on the Internet through College Sports Pass. In addition to the Internet broadcast, fans can also follow live play-by-play at www.txstatebobcats.com.