HOUSTON – Texas State traveled to Houston to play the team's fifth game in just six days to start the season. While the Bobcats fell, 8-4, to Rice, freshman Jonathan Ortega stood out in a big way. The freshman from Victoria, Texas, 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored.
 
The Bobcats tallied eight hits and started fast against Rice, a team receiving votes in national polls and is ranked even as high as No. 23 in some. Freshman lefty Brandon Lewis started for the Bobcats and turned in a solid outing, going four innings and sitting down with just two runs allowed on three hits and four strikeouts. Unfortunately, Rice would have a big fifth inning, and it would prove to be enough to pull out the victory.
 
Offensively, Ortega started the night 3-for-3. In addition to him, Granger Studdard, Tanner Hill, Luke Sherley, Jared Huber each struck a hit, as did Cory Geisler in his first game of the season.
 
Ortega struck his second hit of the game to lead off the third inning, but didn't spend long at first base. Rice tried to pick the freshman off, but, instead, committed a throwing error that Ortega took advantage of to go all the way to third base. Two batters later, he showed off his speed yet again when he scored on a Studdard fly ball to shallow left field to put the Bobcats up, 1-0.
 
After Rice answered with a two-out solo home run to tie it in the bottom of the third, the Bobcat bats went back to work in the top of the fourth. Nick Perez reached on an error, and Huber pushed him to second on a base hit up the middle. With men at first and second, Geisler knocked his first hit of the season, a double to left center to plate Perez. Next, Ortega kept his strong night going with a single up the middle to score Huber and Geisler and push the Bobcat lead up to 4-1 on his third hit of the night.
 
It was a tough start to the bottom of the fifth for the Bobcats. After a hit by pitch, a passed ball and a hit through the right side, Texas State was facing runners at the corners and no outs, a situation that would familiar before the end of the inning. A TXST error brought in one run and put runners at the corners again. Next, a base hit to left field scored a run and put runners at the corners. Back-to-back singles and a groundout would score three more runs before the inning was over to give the Owls a 6-4 lead.
 
Rice was able to add two more runs on three hits in the seventh inning to push the lead to 8-4 for the home team, and that would be the final score.
 
Texas State heads to Corpus Christi, Texas, next to face Big 10 opponent Michigan State, UCF and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the Kleberg College Classic at Whataburger Field. Games are at 2 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday.