March 24, 2006
Box Score
LAKE CHARLES, La. -
Scott Moore struck out a career-high 13 batters but McNeese State got a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the ninth to down Texas State 2-1 Friday at Cowboy Diamond.
McNeese State (14-8, 2-2 SLC) loaded the bases with three singles to open the ninth, and after Moore fanned James Thibodaux for the inning's first out, pinch-hitter Thomas Zabasky ripped a game-winning RBI single through the middle to split the 1-1 tie.
Texas State (11-16, 7-3 SLC) had evened the game with a run in the eighth, as Dawid Bednarek drew a lead-off walk and moved to second on a Thomas Field sacrifice bunt.
Kyle Jones singled into left field on a 1-0 pitch from Cowboy starter Derek Blacksher, and Bednarek slid to the inside of the plate to beat the tag and tie the game at 1-1.
McNeese scored its first run in the sixth, as Bryan Cartie used a wild pitch and a passed ball to cross after getting to second on a sacrifice bunt.
McNeese's first threat in the game came in the third inning, when the Cowboys loaded the bases with no outs.
Moore struck out the next batter looking and followed with swinging strike outs that held McNeese scoreless and forced the Cowboys to strand three.
The Bobcats threatened in the top of the fourth, loading the bases with one out, but Blacksher fanned both David Wood and Aaron Garza to erase the fourth-inning scoring chance for Texas State.
Jones finished the day with his eighth-consecutive multiple hit outing, going 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Luke Cannon extended his season-long hitting streak to 17 with a sixth-inning double to right.
Moore finished the day with 13 strike outs in nine innings pitched, surrendering six walks in the loss. Bobcat reliever Justin Fiske threw only one pitch in the game, giving up Zabasky's game-winning single in the ninth.
Blacksher tossed 7.2 innings for McNeese with only one walk and eight strike outs, as the two starters combined for two surrendered runs in the game.
Six Cowboy batters recorded hits, while Zabasky had the club's only RBI. Cartie and pinch-runner Alex Dugas scored the Cowboy runs in McNeese's second SLC win of the year.
Game two of the three-game series is slated for 3 p.m. Saturday at Cowboy Diamond, and the series concludes with a 1 p.m. first pitch in Lake Charles on Sunday.
