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Corpus Christi, Texas – The Texas State baseball team was two outs away from a sweep before the Islanders of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi came back from a 3-1 deficit in the ninth inning to steal a 4-3 win over the Bobcats in the series finale on Saturday at Chapman Field.
The Islanders scored three runs in the ninth on three hits to take their first lead of the weekend. Their three ninth inning runs were the first three scored by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the ninth inning all season.
Texas State dropped to 20-11 overall and 8-7 in the conference with the loss, while Texas A&M-Corpus Christi improved to 13-18 overall and 6-9 in the conference.
Colby Targun scored both the first run of the game and the first run of his career in the top of the third inning to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead. Senior Tyler Sibley doubled to the right-center field gap with two outs, allowing Targun to easily score from third base. Targun had led off the inning with his second single of the series, while Sibley's double was the 45th of his career, tying former Bobcat first baseman Paul Goldschmidt for the most in Texas State history.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi came back to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth inning against Texas State starter Kyle Finnegan, making the score 1-1 heading to the latter third of the game.
The Bobcats retook the lead in the eighth inning when two-out RBI singles from Jeff McVaney and Casey Kalenkosky broke the tie and gave the team a 3-1 advantage.
Finnegan would keep the team in front as he left the game in the ninth inning after allowing a walk to begin the inning. He limited the Islanders to just two runs and four hits over his eight innings on the mound. The Bobcat sophomore struck out nine batters and allowed just two walks on the afternoon as took the no decision.
McVaney (0-2) came on to pitch the ninth inning for the Bobcats and allowed two runs on three hits as the Islanders came away victorious.
Sibley not only tied the career doubles record in Saturday's contest but also set the new career at-bats record for the Bobcats. The senior, who went 2 for 3 with a walk on Saturday, now has 785 at-bats in his Texas State career as he passed Bret Atwood (783) for the all-time lead.
Offensively, Targun continued his strong start to his Bobcat career with a 3 for 4 day at the plate with a run scored. Kalenkosky also had a pair of hits on the afternoon and his 22nd RBI of the season.
Texas State will take the next few days off before returning to action against Rice in Houston on Tuesday, April 10. The game will be the fourth of eight consecutive road games for the Bobcats to begin the month of April. The team's next home game will not be until April 20 when Texas State hosts Central Arkansas for the first game of a three-game series.
