Box Score

MOBILE, Ala. – Texas State's season came to an end against the Sun Belt Conference's top seed and the nation's No. 2 team, UL Lafayette, 4-3, Saturday. The Bobcats trailed most of the game, but made a late surge that came up just short to finish the season at 30-28.
 
A number of seniors played well for Texas State in the final game of the year. Cody Perkins was not retired in the game, going 2-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored. Hunter Lemke pitched 3.2 innings of relief, only allowing two hits without a walk to keep one of the best offensive teams within reach for the Bobcats.
 
The most impressive Bobcat on the day was junior shortstop Garrett Mattlage. He took over innings defensively throughout the game and knocked an RBI double in Texas State's two-run eighth inning to help spark a comeback.
 
Mattlage and the Texas State defense played well in spurts, but early errors helped UL Lafayette score two unearned runs in the second inning. The Bobcats finished with four errors on the day.
 
After a scoreless opening inning for both teams, UL Lafayette struck in the second. With one out, outfielder Caleb Adams, the leading home run hitter for the Ragin' Cajuns, hit his 11^th homer of the season to put ULL up 1-0.
 
Then, with two outs, Kyle Clement and Michael Strentz reached base with consecutive errors. With runners at the corners, Blake Trahan knocked a double to left centerfield to plate both of them for an early 3-0 ULL lead. Texas State got out of the inning when Tyler Pearson tagged Trahan trying to steal home.
 
In the bottom of the third, Perkins started Texas State with a nice double to left field for his first hit of the tournament. Cory Geisler followed with a walk to bring Cody Lovejoy up to bat. Lovejoy plated Perkins on a groundout for Texas State's first run of the game.
 
The Ragin' Cajuns looked like they were going to take advantage of another Texas State error in the fifth inning, but the Bobcats rebounded with impressive defense. After a leadoff walk and an error on a sacrifice bunt, ULL had runners at second and third base. A pop up to shallow outfield may have scored one runner, but Mattlage made an impressive play ranging to the outfield for the catch and firing it to Pearson at home for the double play. Next, Mattlage caught a pop up in shallow right centerfield to hold the Ragin' Cajuns without a run in the inning.
 
However, UL Lafayette did score in the sixth. Adams hit a two-strike single and Chase Compton followed with a two-strike double to right centerfield to bring in Adams and push the ULL lead to 4-1. The Ragin' Cajuns would not score the rest of the way.
 
Mattlage had another impressive defensive inning in the seventh. Trahan led off the inning with his second triple of the day to tie the SBC Tournament record for triples in a game, but he had to stay at third the rest of the inning because Mattlage recorded three consecutive assists to close out the inning. One was a beautiful diving backhanded stop to keep the ball in the infield.
 
Mattlage turned his defense into offense to knock an RBI for Texas State in the eighth. Perkins won a nine-pitch at-bat with a single through the left side to put the inning's leadoff man on base. After that, Lovejoy took a hit by pitch to bring Mattlage to the plate. He struck a double to left centerfield to score Perkins and push Lovejoy to third base.
 
During a Granger Studdard at-bat, Lovejoy scored on a wild pitch while Mattlage advanced to third. Studdard, meanwhile, drew a walk to put runners at the corners with just one out. The Ragin' Cajuns, however, came up with a big double play to end the inning and hold onto a one-run lead, 4-3.
 
The Bobcat defense got out of trouble again in the ninth inning. With two runners on and just one out, Lemke caught the lead runner at third base on an attempted sacrifice bunt then forced a fly out to bring the Bobcat bats up for the last time.
 
Tanner Hill doubled down the left line with one out in the inning. Next, Pearson almost won the game with a deep fly ball, but the ULL outfielder made the catch at the warning track. Preston Dorsey, pinch running for Hill, went to third base on the fly ball, representing the tying run, but the Bobcats couldn't bring him home.

Two Bobcats were recognized on the Sun Belt Conference All-Tournament Team. Both Austin O'Neal and Austen Williams earned the honor.