Feb. 22, 2006

Box Score

AUSTIN - Cody Merrell drove in three runs and Thomas Field crossed the plate twice, but Texas State was unable to overcome two innings in which the bases were left loaded in a 7-4 loss Wednesday at Texas.

Texas State (3-6) struck first in the top of the first inning, scoring three runs on two hits and a pair of Longhorn miscues, but Texas (6-6) scored the next seven in the three-run Bobcat loss.

Field led off the Bobcat first with a walk and a stolen base, followed by a one-out drawn walk by Aaron Garza that put runners on first and second.

Merrell, the Bobcat clean-up hitter, hammered an 0-2 Riley Boening offering into right center for a triple, scoring both Field and Garza on the play. Texas State's third run came when Kyle Jones singled home Merrell up the middle to give Texas State a 3-0 lead.

Texas would even the score in the bottom of the second, scoring the inning's first two runs on Bradley Suttle's two-RBI double down the left-field line. Suttle later scored on Chais Fuller's RBI sacrifice fly that tied the game at 3-3.

Texas State nearly regained the lead in the third, but Boening forced Bobcat catcher Dawid Bednarek into a two-out fly out, leaving three on and ending the Bobcat threat.

Texas took the lead for good in the third, when Drew Stubbs scored on an RBI double by Jay Russell, and Texas took a 5-3 lead in the fifth, when Russell again drove home Stubbs, this time with an RBI single into right.

Texas State chipped at the lead in the ninth, as Field scored on Merrell's one-out sacrifice fly, but the Bobcats could not overcome ten runners left on base in the 7-4 Longhorn win.

Bobcat starter Ryan Bennett took the loss for the `Cats, falling to 0-1 on 2.1 innings pitched with five walks and a strike out. Bennett surrendered four runs on four hits to Longhorn batters.

Boening, the younger brother of Bobcat pitcher B.J. Boening, struck out a career-best five for the Longhorns, despite gaining no decision in the game. Joey Parigi picked up the win for the Longhorns, tossing four shut-out innings with only one Bobcat hit.

Merrell finished the day 3-for-4 at the plate with a run scored and three RBIs, while Jones drove in a run in a 2-for-4 performance at the plate.

Texas State's next action will come Friday, when the Bobcats travel to Houston for three games in the Rice Crowne Plaza Classic at Reckling Park. Texas State opens the tournament with a 1 p.m. game Friday against Nebraska, and the `Cats conclude action in Houston against St. John's (Saturday) and tournament-host Rice on Sunday.