Box Score
Box Score (PDF)
San Marcos, Texas – There was no shortage of hitting on Saturday afternoon at Bobcat Ballpark as Texas State narrowly defeated visiting Stephen F. Austin, 12-11, in front of 1,128 fans to take a 2-0 lead in the three-game series. The teams combined for 30 hits, 23 runs and six errors on the afternoon.
A pair of insurance runs in the eighth inning turned out to the difference as Andrew Stumph and Morgan Mickan each hit RBI singles to give the Bobcats a 12-9 lead heading into the ninth inning. The Lumberjacks made things interesting in the final inning as they hit a pair of solo home runs to make it a one-run game with one out, but Dylan Adamek came out of the bullpen to record the final two outs and secure his first save of the season.
Hunter Lemke (1-0) earned the victory after pitching 1 2/3 innings in relief. He allowed just one hit and an unearned run while striking out two.
Stephen F. Austin's Chase Wier (0-1) was charged with his first loss of the season after allowing four runs in one inning on the mound.
Stumph tied his career high with four hits on the afternoon as he finished 4-for-4 with a walk, three runs scored and two RBIs. Tyler Sibley went 3-for-5 with two RBIs from the leadoff spot, and Cory Falvey finished 2-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and four RBIs as the Bobcats improved to 19-7 overall and 10-1 in the Southland Conference.
With the loss, SFA dropped to 19-9 and 8-3 in the SLC.
Stephen F. Austin scored one in the top of the first for the second straight day, but the lead was short-lived as Texas State answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 3-1 lead after one. With one out in the inning, Bret Atwood walked and Kyle Kubitza followed with a double off the wall in left-center field to bring home Atwood and tie the game. Casey Kalenkosky then hit an RBI double down the left-field line, and Jeff McVaney lined an RBI single to right field for the Bobcats' third consecutive hit and a two-run lead.
After a scoreless second inning, the Lumberjacks added a pair of unearned runs – their third and fourth of the series thus far – in the third inning to tie the game at 3-3.
In the fourth, Stephen F. Austin took a 4-3 lead on a sacrifice from Bryson Myles in the top of the inning before the Bobcats came back once again tie the game in the bottom of the frame. Stumph led off the inning with a double to right-center field and moved to third on a groundout by Mickan. Sibley came to the plate next and extended his hitting streak to 29 games with an RBI single back up the middle to make the score 4-4.
Both teams then put up three runs in the fifth inning to make the score 7-7 after five. In the Texas State half of the inning, Falvey, Stumph and Sibley each had RBI hits to tie the game for game for the fourth time.
The Lumberjacks added one run in the sixth to go in front, 8-7, but the Bobcats again responded to retake the lead on one swing of the bat. After McVaney and Isaac Nuti each took one-out walks, Falvey hit a 2-0 pitch over the left-field fence for his first home run as a Bobcat, giving the home team a 10-8 lead after six innings.
In the top of the eighth, the Lumbjacks pushed across an unearned run and looked to add more with runners on second and third and just one out, but an unconventional double play helped the Bobcats escape the inning. SFA's Jordan Lewis grounded a ball back to Texas State pitcher Joseph Dvorsky on the mound who threw the ball home to catch the SFA runner on third in a rundown. That began a series of rundowns in which the Bobcats were able to tag out the original runner from second and Lewis to get out of the inning with a 10-9 lead. A heads-up play from center fielder Bret Atwood to come in from the outfield and put the tag on Lewis at second base resulted in the second out on the play.
Texas State and Stephen F. Austin will play the final game of the series on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Bobcat Ballpark. Sophomore Colton Turner is scheduled to start for the Bobcats against SFA's Zack Taylor.
