MOBILE, Ala. – Behind the work of Scott Grist on the mound and Granger Studdard at the plate and defensively, Texas State looked to be in line for a win to even the series at South Alabama Saturday night. However, the Jaguars tied the game in the ninth and used a walk-off hit in the 11^th to outlast the Bobcats, 2-1, in the heartbreaking loss.
 
Now both teams stand at 5-3 in Sun Belt Conference play, and the Bobcats will look to bounce back at 11 a.m. Sunday. The Sunday game has been moved up an hour due to weather considerations.
 
Texas State's Grist pitched a gem of a game, continually coming through with big pitches in big moments. He went 8.1 innings and only gave up six hits and one run. He walked one but struck out five, and three of his strikeouts came to end innings with runners on base. He did not give up a run until the ninth.
 
Meanwhile, Studdard showed what he could do defensively, getting his first start of the season at first base. He finished the night with 14 putouts and an assist. His assist came on beautiful double play in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Jaguars had sacrifice bunted the leadoff man to second base in the inning when Ryan Raspino, the USA shortstop, rifled a line drive at Studdard. He skied high to make the catch and sent it over to second base for the double play to keep the game tied at 0-0.
 
After the impressive defensive play, Studdard led off the sixth inning with a solo home run, the first of his sophomore season and seventh of his career. He knocked it to right field, carrying the defensive momentum from the fifth to the plate with him in the sixth.
 
Unfortunately for Texas State, that would be the only run the team scored all night. The Bobcats left nine runners stranded, ending six innings with runners on base, including the 10^th.
 
In the ninth, Grist gave up a single to Adam Ballew, South Alabama's leading RBI-hitter, after holding him to 0-for-3 to that point in the game. After the single, the Bobcats changed pitchers, and Daniel Martinez knocked a double that landed just fair to plate Ballew and tie the game.
 
Blake Whitter entered the game after that and intentionally walked the next batter, making use of the open base. From there, he induced a groundout on a nice play from Ben McElroy, entering the game late to take over at first base. With two runners on, Matt Sanchez made the next game-saving play, charging forward from his spot in centerfield to make the catch for third out and to close out the ninth inning.
 
Neither team scored in the 10^th, thanks to the work of Cedric Vallieres at second base. He assisted on a putout and caught a line drive for two outs in the inning. The senior was not retired in his first three at bats of the night.
 
In the 11^th, however, South Alabama used consecutive singles and a walk to load the bases. At that point, South Alabama's designated hitter Ben Gann made his first hit of the night, dropping a single to shallow right field to plate the winning run.
 
Studdard went 2-for-5 in the game with a run and an RBI on his homer while Vallieres finished 1-for-4, but earned a walk and reached on an error. Freshman Derek Scheible had the other hit for Texas State as the Bobcats finished with four hits on the night. The defense did not commit an error for the second time this season.
 
Texas State will look to try and salvage the series Sunday with an 11 a.m. first pitch, moved ahead an hour due to weather considerations. After that, the Bobcats will return home to host No. 14 Texas at 6 p.m. Tuesday night before welcoming Georgia Southern to San Marcos for another SBC series over the weekend.