SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State put together a complete game Friday night to get the team's first Sun Belt Conference victory with a 4-3 win over UL Monroe. Lucas Humpal put together an impressive pitching performance while the defense backed him up throughout the night, and Colby Targun knocked the big hit the Bobcats needed to improve to 4-8-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play.
 
The Bobcats and UL Monroe will play a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m., changing the original schedule due to expected inclement weather on Sunday.
  Humpal went 8.1 innings and tallied all 10 of Texas State's strikeouts in the game, more than doubling his season total to that point. He only walked two and gave up eight hits and three runs on 117 pitches. In the ninth, Blake Whitter picked up the out he needed and Cory Geisler came in for his second save of the season. He used the athleticism fans see from him in the outfield to come up, field a bunt and get it to first base in time for the final out of the game.
 
At the plate, Targun came up big for the Bobcats on a 3-for-4 night with a run and an RBI. In a 3-3 tied game, Texas State moved David Paiz to third base on consecutive groundouts after he reached on a walk. With two outs, Targun ripped one up the middle to plate Paiz for the go-ahead run.
 
Geisler joined Targun with multiple hits on the night, finishing with two hits and also scoring a run and knocking an RBI. Ben McElroy, Granger Studdard, Cody Lovejoy, Tanner Hill and Theodore Hoffman also tallied hits while McElroy and Studdard added RBIs. Hill wasn't retired in the game, tallying two walks and a hit by pitch with his hit.
 
The Bobcats were first on the scoreboard with a first-inning run. Geisler led off with a single up the middle and went to second on a throwing error from the pitcher. After that, Studdard sent a hit to right centerfield. Warhawk centerfielder Nathan Pugh tried to make a diving play on the ball, but it popped out for a Studdard triple that brought in Geisler.
 
In the top of the second, ULM wasted no time answering. The Warhawks stacked three singles together to score a run to tie the game. Texas State, however, scored two runs in the bottom of the inning. Targun ran out an infield single to put Texas State's leadoff man in the inning on base. Hill took a hit by pitch and Luke Sherley worked the count for a walk. With bases loaded, Geisler sent a single through the left side to plate Targun. McElroy followed with an infield single to score Hill and put the Bobcats up, 3-1.
 
The Warhawks kept the scoring going in the third with two more runs to tie it up. They used three hits to tie the game, but Humpal finished the inning by catching a runner trying to steal home off a busted pickoff play.
 
From there, it was scoreless baseball until the seventh inning when Targun put the Bobcats on top for good. The pitching and Texas State defense, which made two impressive plays for outs from Sherley and Targun, shut the Warhawks down the rest of the way.
 
Texas State and UL Monroe will continue the series with a Saturday doubleheader scheduled for 1 p.m. Scott Grist will be on the mound for the Bobcats against Brandon Bell for the Warhawks in the first game of the day. The second game of the doubleheader will start approximately 45 minutes after the conclusion of the first.



 

Great win by @TxStateBaseball to open up conference play. Humpal with 10K ???? — andrew? (@an_dres92) March 7, 2015

FINAL: @TxStateBaseball wins their conference opener 4-3. Come out to the double header tomorrow starting at 1:00 p.m. #TXST #eatemup — KTSW Sports (@KTSWSports) March 7, 2015