Box Score

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State finished the series against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on a high note on St. Patrick's Sunday with a 7-1 victory. Catcher Tyler Pearson sparked the team with three RBI on a 2-for-3 day while Brooks Orton was a perfect 2-for-2 with a walk for two RBI. Both Ben McElroy and Colby Targun tallied an RBI each while pitcher Kyle Finnegan earned his second victory of the season.
 
Finnegan went six innings, only allowing three hits and one run while striking out two and walking three. Lucas Humpal, Donnie Hart, Mitchell Pitts and Hunter Lemke combined for three innings and just one hit to close out the game against the Islanders.
 
In addition to Targun's RBI, he also scored three runs while Cody Lovejoy came across the plate twice on a 3-for-5 day.
 
The Bobcats wasted no time getting on the board as Lovejoy and McElroy teamed up for two singles in the inning. Lovejoy sent one up the middle that the TAMUCC shortstop barely stopped. Then, he moved to second on ground out, and McElroy brought him in with a hit straight up the middle for the early 1-0 lead.
 
As Finnegan and the Bobcat defense retired 10 of 11 batters from the end of the first to the fourth inning, Texas State added another run. Targun started the fourth with a high pop up single to left field and ran all the way to third on an Orton single through the right side. Pearson plated Targun with a sacrifice fly to centerfield.
 
Kevin Sah and Lovejoy kept the Texas State momentum going in the fifth. Sah started with a walk and beat the throw to third on a Lovejoy single up the middle. The opportunistic Lovejoy took second on the throw. Unfortunately, a fielder's choice led to Sah getting tagged out at third, but McElroy took a pitch to the shoulder to load the bases. Islander pitcher Adam Hoelscher hit Targun next for another Bobcat run to give Texas State a 3-0 lead.
 
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi moved to Jacob Dorris after that, but the Bobcats responded with consecutive singles from Orton and Pearson for a combined three RBI and a 6-0 lead after five innings.
 
The Bobcats were looking for more runs in the sixth. Lovejoy ran out a nifty bunt for a single and Garrett Mattlage worked the count for a walk to put two runners on for McElroy. The first baseman sent the ball to the right field wall looking for two more RBI, but TAMUCC right fielder Stafford Brantley made a running highlight catch at the wall to end the inning.
 
The Islanders finally broke the shutout in the seventh inning. Dominic Lopez led the inning with a double to left field, and then Brad Lamberti knocked a two-out double to the edge of right field for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's first run of the game.
 
Texas State did not let the run go unanswered. In the bottom of the inning, Targun led off with a fast moving grounder through the left side. Orton pushed him to second on a sacrifice bunt, then Targun took third all his own on a stolen base. Pearson notched his third RBI of the day when he snuck one past the first baseman to plate Targun and push the lead to 7-1.
 
After McElroy saw the great catch on his own hit earlier in the game, he decided to show he can make an eye-grabbing catch as well. He made a beautiful catch on a foul ball to end the top of the eighth as he slid into the warning track down the right line.
 
Neither team did much in their final at bats to keep it at 7-1 for the final score. The Bobcats can now look forward to the Western Athletic Conference schedule as they will travel to Las Cruces, N.M. to face New Mexico State over the weekend. First pitch Friday is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CST.