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San Marcos, Texas – Another enthusiastic crowd at Bobcat Ballpark cheered on No. 23 Texas State to an 8-4 victory over No. 19 TCU on Tuesday night as the Bobcats completed the season sweep of the Horned Frogs. The sixth largest crowd in Bobcat Ballpark history (1,916) was on hand for the win, which was also the fourth top-10 crowd in the park's history this season.
Texas State earned its first win over TCU at home since 2001, and the victory also marked the first time since 2004 that the team beat TCU twice in the same season. The win also halted TCU's nine-game winning streak it had entering Tuesday night.
The Bobcats improved to 14-6 overall this season, the club's second-best 20-game start under head coach Ty Harrington. Meanwhile, TCU fell to 11-7 overall.
Redshirt freshman Taylor Black made his first career start for the home team and turned in 3 2/3 innings while allowing just one hit and no runs. Black (1-0) struck out three and earned the victory after coming out of the game due to pitch count restrictions.
“I thought the key to the game was in the beginning with Taylor,” said Harrington. “I thought he handled it well. His sinker was good and so was his two-seam fastball.”
Eight Bobcats pitchers were used in total for the game, striking out 13 Horned Frogs combined while limiting the visitors to just six hits for the game.
Jeff McVaney came in to pitch with one out in the eighth inning and bases loaded, but he was able to work out of the jam before tossing a scoreless ninth inning for his fourth save of the season.
At the plate, Ben McElroy reached base four times and scored a pair of runs, while Brooks Orton (3 for 4) and McVaney (2 for 4) each had multiple hits for the game. Cody Gambill (1 for 2) also reached base twice and scored two runs for Texas State.
“Ben is very patient and puts the ball in play,” Harrington said. “It's very important to get on base, and he did a great job of that tonight.”
Texas State took the lead in the second inning when Isaac Nuti pulled a high flyball down the right field line that bounced off the wall for a two-RBI triple that brought home Andrew Stumph and Gambill for a 2-0 Bobcat lead.
The Bobcats extended their lead to 3-0 in the third inning. McElroy worked a one-out walk and stole second base before moving to third on a flyout from McVaney. Orton then followed with his second hit of the day to bring home McElroy for his eighth RBI of the season.
Two TCU errors helped break open the game in the fourth inning when the Bobcats scored four runs to take a 7-0 lead. Casey Kalenkosky had a sacrifice fly and McVaney added an RBI single during the inning.
The Horned Frogs came back in the top of the fifth inning with four runs on four hits to cut into the Bobcats' lead and make the sore 7-4.
TCU's defense was again to blame in the bottom of the seventh inning when the Bobcats added their eighth run of the game. Texas State put runners on first and second with one out and a failed pickoff attempt followed by an error on the Horned Frogs' center fielder allowed Cody Lovejoy to score for an 8-4 score that would end up the final.
The Bobcats have the next two days off before returning to the field this weekend in Huntsville for a three-game Southland Conference series against Sam Houston State. Game one of the series will be this Friday, March 23 at 6:30 p.m.
