May 24, 2007

Box Score

Natchitoches, La.-- No. 3 seed Texas State knocked off No. 1 seed Texas-San Antonio to stay alive in the Southland Conference Tournament. The intense I-35 rivalry followed both teams to Natchitoches, where the `Cats won 9-6 in ten innings on Thursday afternoon. Texas State scored three runs in the top of the tenth inning and then closer Eric Weaver took care of the rest, forcing two fly outs and striking out Mitch Ponza to end the game.

Texas State will face No. 6 seed Stephen F. Austin at 3:00 p.m. Friday, May 25.

The game had an almost too familiar feel, with the Roadrunners jumping on the scoreboard first. James Keithley put UTSA ahead, 1-0 in the bottom of the third. Keithley singled to center field, moved to second on a Michael Rockett walk and scored off of a Trent Lockwood single RBI.

The Bobcats tied the game in the top of the fourth, with Laurn Randell leading off with a double to left field. Aaron Garza hit a single RBI to score Randell, kick starting the back-and-forth battle.

Casey Guest and Thomas Field added runs in the fifth, giving the Bobcats a 3-2 lead. Guest singled and moved to third on a Thomas Field hit. Randell hit a sacrifice fly out to right field, scoring Guest and tying the game. David Wood stepped up and doubled to score Field.

UTSA tied it up 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth, when Tim Palincsar hit a home run to right field.

It seemed as though Texas State would win the game in regular innings, after they scored three runs in the eighth, taking a 6-3 lead. Paul Goldschmidt led the inning with a single to left center and stole second. Pat Crumpton pinch hit for a second time this season against UTSA and came up big once again, moving Goldschmidt to third with a hit to the outfield. Goldschmidt scored off of a Ben Theriot single RBI. The scoring didn't stop there, Crumpton scored off of a Guest single and Jason Miranda, who pinch ran for Theriot, scored off of a Field sacrifice fly.

The Roadrunners proved once again that they would not go down without a fight, tying the game in the bottom of the eighth. Lockwood led off the innings with a hit and moved to second on a Zach Etheredge single. He took third base on a Bobcat passed ball and scored off of a Phillip Allen sacrifice fly. Ryan Rummel hit a ball that barely cleared the left field wall, clearing the bases for his first home run of the season.

The game appeared to take a turn for the worse, when UTSA put the winning run on second base with a stand up double. Rockett hit a line drive to substitute third baseman Clint Vest and he made the double play, getting Palincsar out at second and sending the game into extra innings.

The momentum seemed to be rolling in the Bobcats direction, entering into the tenth inning. Jared Bunn and Vest were both walked before UTSA would bring in closer Mark Ruffin. Gerry Cervantez laid down a sacrifice bunt, advancing Bunn to third and Vest to second. Guest hit his third single of the evening to score Bunn and move Vest to third. Field hit an RBI single, scoring Vest and giving Texas State a 7-5 edge. Randell hit his second sacrifice fly of the evening, driving in Guest for the final run of the night.

The win was a team effort with several Bobcats performing well both on the mound and at the plate. Steven Siers, Jason Baca and Weaver were all on the mound for the `Cats and struck out eight batters collectively. Weaver improves to 6-1 on the season, pitching in 2.1 innings. Guest and Field led the offense, going three-for-five. Guest scored two runs and Field scored one, both had two RBIs.

UTSA will play the loser of the Lamar, Sam Houston State game.

Southland Conference Results
No. 6 Stephen F. Austin, 11 - No. 5 McNeese State, 3
No. 3 Texas State, 9 -- No. 1 Texas-San Antonio, 6 (10)
No. 2 Lamar vs. No. 4 Sam Houston State at 7:15 p.m.