SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State looked to be in control of Friday night's game against Arkansas State until the seventh inning. With the Bobcats up, 5-3, the Red Wolves scored three runs to go ahead, 6-5, and added two more to cap the game in the ninth. With the 8-5 loss, the Bobcats drop to 20-27-1 on the season and 12-13 in the Sun Belt Conference.
 
The Bobcats were able to strike 11 hits in the game with four Bobcats going for two hits apiece. Granger Studdard, Tanner Hill, David Paiz and Colby Targun all knocked two hits while Cedric Vallieres, Ben McElroy and Luke Sherley each added a hit. Unfortunately, Texas State could only score five runs on those hits.
 
Paiz led the team with two RBI while Vallieres, Studdard and Hill each added one. Arkansas State's Joe Schrimpf, though, matched Texas State's output with five RBI of his own on a home run, a triple and a walk.
 
Outside of that, Texas State's pitching staff put on a solid performance with a combined 10 strikeouts from Lucas Humpal, Braden Pearson and Tyler Giovanoni. Pearson, a freshman lefty, tallied three strikeouts and only gave up one hit in two innings of work.
 
Arkansas State was able to score a run in the top of the first inning, but the Bobcats came back to answer in the bottom of the inning. Vallieres earned a one-out walk, his 29^th of the season. Back-to-back base hits brought Vallieres in to tie the game, scoring on a single from Hill.
 
The Bobcats kept it rolling in the second inning with two more runs. Targun led off with a single up the middle, and Sherley pushed him to third base on a hit through the right side. After that, Cory Geisler worked the count for a walk to load the bases. Vallieres brought in the first run on a fielder's choice, but Studdard plated Sherley with a hit up the middle for a 3-1 Texas State lead. Vallieres was thrown out for the third out of the inning trying to stretch from second to third on the play.
 
The Red Wolves, were able to counter with a run in the top of the third. Their nine-hole hitter, Lucas Feddersen, knocked a leadoff double, went to third on a fly out and scored on a groundout to pull Arkansas State within one, 3-2. The next play was a pop up to end the top half of the third.
 
In the fourth, ASU was able to tie the game on a sacrifice fly. The designated hitter reached base on a hit by pitch, and the next batter knocked a single up the middle to push the DH, Tanner Ring, to third base. He scored on the sacrifice from Stuart Levy to tie the game, 3-3.
 
Texas State grabbed control of the game in the fifth inning. Hill started the inning with a single and McElroy knocked a big double to right field to put both runners in scoring position. Paiz brought both runners in with a base knock up the middle to put the Bobcats up, 5-3. With that, Arkansas State made its first change on the mound, going to sophomore righty Tyler Zuber.
 
Behind the work of Zuber and timely hitting in the seventh, Arkansas State was able to make it a new game. The leadoff hitter reached on a hit by pitch and went all the way to third base on a single. The single went through the left side, and may have been an easy play for Sherley if he hadn't just vacated the spot to cover second base. With two on base, Schrimpf knocked a 3-2 pitch to deep left centerfield for a triple to tie the game, 5-5. The Red Wolves would go up, 6-5, on an RBI groundout from Matt Burgess.
 
Arkansas State closed out strong in the ninth inning. The leadoff man knocked a triple to centerfield and Schrimpf followed it with a two-run homer, his fifth of the year, to put the Red Wolves up, 8-5. That would be the final score.
 
Texas State and Arkansas State are scheduled for a 3 p.m. game Saturday and 11 a.m. game Sunday but continue to follow www.txstatebobcats.com throughout the weekend for any changes due to weather.