Box Score

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Texas State and Sacramento State played a close one to start this weekend's Western Athletic Conference series, but the Bobcats fell, 3-2, to drop to 5-2 in the WAC and 12-17 overall.
 
Freshman J.D. Stinnett led the squad at the plate with a perfect 2-for-2 outing with a walk. Sophomore Colby Targun and Garrett Mattlage also knocked two hits, both going 2-for-4 with Targun scoring a run. Cody Lovejoy and Andrew Stumph knocked the other hits for the Bobcats as they put up eight on the day.
 
Sacramento State finished with 10 hits and stranded nine runners. Texas State left seven on base.
 
Taylor Black pitched 6.2 innings in the start, giving up 10 hits, three runs, two earned. He walked two and struck out five, finishing with 115 pitches.
 
Texas State played strong defensive baseball throughout most of the game, but the Hornets made a move in the third inning. Sacramento State scored all three of its runs in that inning. They knocked four hits and benefitted from an error with the bases loaded en route to their game-winning three runs.
 
The Bobcats had their first scoring opportunity in the top of the third inning. Stinnett led off with a hit to the third baseman and moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt from Morgan Mickan. He took off for third on a fly ball from Kevin Sah but could not get in for a run as a strike out ended the opportunity.
 
Sacramento State had left four men on base in the first two innings, but the Hornets were able to score a few in the third. Sac State put up four hits in the inning for three runs, one of which was unearned on an error by the second baseman.
 
Tyler Pearson kept the Hornets at three runs with an outstanding play on a wild pitch. As the ball bounced away, Sacramento State's Nathan Lukes tried to take home. As Pearson dove for the ball, he twisted around to make a pinpoint throw to Black as Lukes slid into home for the third out.
 
The Bobcats rewarded his defensive efforts with a run in the next inning. Targun led off with a stand up double to right field. A single from Stinnett moved him to third, and Targun scored on a wild pitch from Sac State relief pitcher Brandon Creel.
 
In the eighth, trailing, 3-1, Lovejoy started the Bobcats off with a leadoff double down the left line. Mattlage followed with a hard hit single off the glove of the third baseman to put runners at the corners with no outs. After a pop fly, Sacramento State went to its third pitcher, lefty Tyler Hoelzen. Texas State countered with pinch hitter Austin O'Neal, who hit a sacrifice fly to score Lovejoy and pull the Bobcats within one, 3-2.
 
Defensively, Texas State kept the momentum going when Targun made a diving catch on a foul ball for the first out of the bottom of the eighth inning. The Bobcats put away the next two Hornets quickly to move to the ninth. Unfortunately, Texas State couldn't get anything going in the final inning.
 
Texas State will look to bounce back in the second game of the series at 3 p.m. Saturday with Scott Grist on the mound for the Bobcats.