Box Score | Box Score (PDF)
San Marcos, Texas – The Texas State offense came to life on Sunday afternoon at Bobcat Ballpark as the Bobcats pounded out 14 hits and 12 runs in a 12-8 victory over Stephen F. Austin to win the weekend series. The team's 12 runs on Sunday was the highest offensive output of the season for Texas State.
No. 20 Texas State (13-6, 4-2 SLC) won its second straight Southland Conference series and now sits atop the conference standings, while Stephen F. Austin (7-12, 2-4 SLC) dropped its second straight weekend series.
Sunday's crowd of 1,129 was part of the most well-attended Southland Conference series at Bobcat Ballpark ever with more than 3,500 fans coming out to the park during the three-game set.
Casey Kalenkosky (3 for 3) and Tyler Sibley (3 for 5) each recorded their second three-hit games of the season for Texas State. Sibley also stole his seventh base of the season.
Jeff McVaney (2 for 4) had a big day at the plate as he finished with four RBIs, two runs scored and his fourth home run of the season. Brooks Orton (2 for 3, 2 runs) and Garrett Mattlage (2 for 4, 2 RBIs, 1 run) each also finished with a pair of hits.
Orton began the third inning with a double to the wall in center field before a single from Sibley put runners at the corners with no one out. A double steal brought home the first run of the game for the Bobcats and gave Sibley 48 stolen bases for his career, tied for second most in Texas State history.
Later in the inning, Andrew Stumph roped a bases-loaded RBI single, and Cody Gambill followed with a hit-by-pitch to give the Bobcats a 3-2 lead. With the bases still loaded, Mattlage hit a ball back through the middle for a two-RBI single that put Texas State in front 5-2.
The Lumberjacks cut their deficit to one in the top of the fourth inning with a two-run homer from SLC-leader Hunter Dozier, but the Bobcats came back in the bottom of the inning as McVaney hit his second homer of the series to make the score 8-4 Texas State.
However, the visitors came back with a pair of runs in both the fifth and seventh innings to tie the game at 8-8 at the seventh inning stretch.
Coming out of the stretch, the Bobcats loaded the bases for Sibley who hit a two-RBI double into the left-center field gap for a 10-8 Texas State lead. One batter later, Ben McElroy hit a sacrifice fly to center field that brought home Orton for an 11-8 score, and McVaney finished the scoring in the inning with an RBI single to right field for his fourth RBI of the game.
Ross Goebel (1-1) picked up his first win of the season after throwing 1 2/3 innings of hitless baseball in relief, while SFA's Cody Priest (0-3) was charged with the loss.
Texas State baseball will look forward to its next game at Bobcat Ballpark on Tuesday against TCU. The Bobcats and Horned Frogs will play for the second time this season beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tickets for the game are available through TxStateBobcats.com/tickets or by calling 512-245-2272.
