Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

SAN MARCOS – Texas State added two wins Saturday to improve to 9-2 for the team's best 11-game start since 2011. The Bobcats saw Tyler Pearson knock a home run for an exclamation point on game one's 8-5 victory, then Garrett Mattlage stepped into the moment with two outs, two strikes, bases loaded and down one to knock a grand slam, pushing the Bobcats past Wagner, 9-7, in game two.
 
Texas State was able to get on the board in the second inning of the first game when the bottom of the lineup came up big. With Cory Geisler and Colby Targun at second and first base, Cody Perkins hit a liner straight up the middle to score Geisler and claim an early 1-0 lead. Preston Dorsey knocked in his second RBI of the season after that with a shot to shallow centerfield to score Targun.
 
Eventually Perkins scored too on a bases loaded walk for Mattlage. After that, Austin O'Neal busted the game wide open with a deep hit to centerfield to clear the bases and push the lead to 6-0 after just two innings.
 
Wagner didn't answer until the fourth inning. Chris Smith, the second batter of the inning, went all the way to second on an error then moved to third on a fly out. Catcher Jason Gordon knocked Smith in on a single to right field. After that, the Bobcats limited the fourth to just one run, but the Seahawks added one run in the fifth and seventh innings to close the gap to 6-3.
 
Pearson put an exclamation point on the first victory of the day with an eighth-inning solo home run, his team-leading third long ball of the season. Not long after that, pinch hitter Ben McElroy knocked in Targun from second base with a double to deep centerfield to push the lead to 8-3.
 
In a last ditch effort, Wagner added two runs in the ninth, but closer Hunter Lemke shut the Seahawks down when it counted to earn his third save of the season.
 
Starter Taylor Black went five innings and struck out seven. He gave up five hits and one earned run with three walks. Tyler Davenport pitched three innings of effective relief, but got into a little bit of trouble in the ninth.
 
O'Neal led the Bobcats in Saturday's opener with a 2-for-4 performance and three RBI. Six other Bobcats tallied a hit in the team's eighth win of the season.
 
Wagner tried to bounce back in the second game with the first two runs in the third. Wagner right fielder Evan Fardella legged out an infield single and scored on a triple from leadoff man Nick Mascelli. Mascelli came in on a double from centerfielder Chris Smith for an early 2-0 Wagner lead and the first two earned runs Austen Williams has given up in 2014.
 
Texas State answered in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, Granger Studdard knocked Texas State's first hit of the game and Matt Sanchez followed with a walk. Perkins followed with a base knock to right center to score Studdard from second and cut the lead in half, 2-1.
 
The Seahawks continued to come after the Bobcats with two more runs in the fourth inning to push their lead to 4-1. Texas State, however, rebounded in the bottom of the fourth. Mattlage led off with a walk and O'Neal followed with a double. A Tanner Hill groundout scored Mattlage and a Matt Smith rocket past a diving third baseman scored O'Neal to close the deficit to just one run again, 4-3.
 
Wagner kept the pressure on with two runs in the sixth inning, the first on a safety squeeze to push the team's lead back up to three runs, 6-3, but Texas State continued to do a good job of answering every Wagner score. Smith led off with a hit by pitch and scored two singles later when David Paiz knocked a single up the middle in the bottom of the inning. Later in the inning, Perkins sent the ball to the outfield for a sacrifice fly to score Targun and pull the Bobcats within one, 6-5.
 
Then the moment came everyone will talk about all week: Mattlage's eighth-inning, two-out grand slam to push the Bobcats past Wagner, 9-6. Paiz knocked a deep double to be the first man on base in the inning, then Anthony Battaglia walked consecutive batters. Mattlage made his fateful swing with two strikes against him to bring it home for the Bobcats.
 
Lemke stepped to the mound in the ninth inning for his second save of the day and fourth of the season to ensure the win. Mattlage, Perkins and O'Neal helped him out with a nice double play to end the game.
 
The Bobcats will take Sunday off due to the doubleheader but return to action Wednesday in a home game against Valparaiso at 6:30 p.m. at Bobcat Ballpark.