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Houston, Texas – Houston scored a run in the bottom of the ninth inning to steal a 2-1 win from Texas State at Cougar Field on Friday night in the first game of three this weekend between the two teams.
The score was tied 1-1 entering the ninth inning when the Cougars loaded the bases with one out. Bobcat reliever Dylan Adamek came in from the bullpen to record one out to put Texas State within an out of escaping the inning, but the senior hit the next Houston batter with a pitch to force home the winning run.
Texas State (2-3) dropped below .500 for the first time since the beginning of the 2010 season with the loss, while Houston continued its strong start to the season with a 4-1 overall record.
Texas State starting pitcher Colton Turner turned in his best performance as a Bobcat, striking out a career-high 12 batters over six innings while allowing just four Cougar hits and no runs. The junior struck out multiple batters in four of six innings on the mound, including a rare four-strikeout fourth inning when a wild-pitch strikeout gave the home team an extra out.
Turner had to settle for a no-decision for the second straight start as he lowered his season ERA to 0.66.
After three scoreless innings to start the game, Texas State senior Casey Kalenkosky changed that with one swing of the bat. The Bobcat first baseman went the other way with a 0-1 outside fastball and sent it over the right field fence for his second home run of the season, giving Texas State a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning. The blast was the 23rd of his Bobcat career, tying him for fifth in the record books with former Texas State player Mark Younk.
The Bobcats would hold onto that 1-0 lead until the bottom of the seventh inning when a two-out double by the Cougars brought home a runner from first to tie the game at 1-1. Texas State left fielder Kevin Sah nearly made a spectacular play as he raced to the left-field line to make the catch, but he could not corral the fly ball.
Texas State would use five relief pitchers over the final three innings to help keep the Houston bats at bay before the ninth inning run gave the Cougars a walk-off win.
Junior Ross Goebel (0-1) was charged with the loss after allowing one earned run in 1/3 of an inning on the mound, while Houston reliever Jordan Mannisto (1-0) picked up the win after throwing two scoreless innings.
Kalenkosky finished the game 2-for-3 with a home run and accounted for the only two Bobcat hits on the night. Nick Smelser also reached base twice in the loss with a pair of walks.
Texas State and Houston will play the second game of their three-game series on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Cougar Field. Junior RHP Travis Ballew (1-0) will take the ball for the Bobcats.
