Box Score

SAN MARCOS – Texas State's Garrett Mattlage and Granger Studdard helped erase a 6-3 ninth-inning deficit to top the UTSA Roadrunners, 7-6, in baseball's first installment of the I-35 Rivalry. The Bobcats dropped UTSA to 19-8 on the season and improved to 17-11 in the process.
 
After a four-run eighth inning for UTSA to put the Roadrunners up 6-3, the Bobcats came up big in the bottom of the ninth. With one runner on, Matt Smith knocked a double to put two runners in scoring position. After that, Colby Targun reached on a hit by pitch. Then, with bases loaded, Mattlage came through with a bases-clearing double to the right center gap to tie the game, 6-6.
 
With that hit, Mattlage plated his 15^th, 16^th, and 17^th RBI of the season with bases loaded as he improved to 6-for-6 with three walks, a double and a grand slam in bases loaded situations.
 
The Bobcats weren't finished. Determined to end the game in the ninth, Studdard hit his third walk-off hit of the season to score Mattlage from second. He went the other way with a base knock to the left center gap.
 
While Mattlage and Studdard came up with the big hits in the ninth, a number of Bobcats had an impressive night. Austin O'Neal, getting the start at first base, led the team with a 3-for-4 performance and an RBI. Smith joined Studdard with two hits each while four other Bobcats tallied a hit each for 11 hits on the night.
 
On the mound, Dylan Bein only gave up six hits in six innings with eight strikeouts and two walks against a team with six hitters above .300. Ross Goebel didn't allow a hit and had one strikeouts in one inning pitched while Tyler Davenport and Andrew Boes combined to give up two hits and no earned runs to close out the eighth and ninth innings.
 
The Bobcats were the first to score with two hits and a walk in the second inning. Studdard led off with a single to centerfield and Ben McElroy pushed him to scoring position with a walk. O'Neal plated Studdard with a two-out RBI single to right field.
 
The Roadrunners answered in the top of the third with two runs of their own. Mitchell Matulia doubled to right field and leadoff hitter John Welborn followed with a walk. Next, Horacio Correa hit into an error to score Matulia. A wild pitch scored Welborn to give UTSA the 2-1 lead.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, Texas State responded. Studdard walked to lead off and Tyler Pearson moved him to third on a single to right field. Studdard crossed the plate on a double play groundout to tie the game, 2-2.
 
Texas State kept the game tied with an impressive double play to end the top of the sixth inning. Trey Hicks sent it to Smith at second who turned it with a leaning throw to O'Neal at first.
 
After tying the game, Texas State went ahead in the bottom of the seventh, scoring again with two outs. Smith hit a bouncing single that went over the third baseman and Targun followed with a base knock to centerfield. Jesse Baker, the UTSA centerfielder, struggled to field the hit allowing Smith to score all the way from first to put the Bobcats up, 3-2.
 
The Roadrunners responded with five hits and four runs to claim a 6-3 lead in the eighth. With two outs, Baker hit a double and tied the game on the next at bat when R.J. Perucki sent another double to the left center gap. With Parucki on second base, UTSA's top hitter, Mike Warren, hit a two-run homer to left field to put the Roadrunners up, 5-3. After that, a single and a triple scored one more run before heading to the bottom of the eighth.
 
Despite the deficit, Texas State would not be denied in the ninth, coming up with the big hits when they needed it.
 
The Bobcats will stay at home for a conference series against South Alabama, starting with a 6 p.m. game Friday. The series will continued with a 3 p.m. game Saturday and concluding with a 1 p.m. game Sunday.