SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Texas State's streak of seven consecutive wins came to an end in San Antonio Tuesday night as I-35 Rival UTSA beat the Bobcats, 14-7. Texas State walked 10, hit three batsmen, threw two wild pitches and committed two errors to drop to 12-5 on the season.
 
There were offensive highlights for the Bobcats though with Theodore Hoffman finding his swing for the fences, Granger Studdard boosting his batting average and Jonathan Ortega continuing his takeover of college baseball. .
 
Hoffman sent out two home runs on a 3-for-4 night, racking up four RBIs and bringing his batting average up to .317. After hitting his first home run of the season on Saturday, Studdard knocked his second of the year Tuesday night. It was one of two hits for his 2-for-4 night, adding a walk and boosting his batting average to .311. Meanwhile, Ortega went 4-for-5, knocking hit after hit to boast a .408 batting average.
 
In addition to that trio, Jared Huber was 2-for-3 while Tanner Hill, Jaylen Hubbard and Cody Lovejoy each added a hit apiece. In total, the Bobcats struck 14 hits, two more than the Roadrunners. Unfortunately, the defense and pitching faltered, allowing 14 runs on 12 hits for UTSA. Seven pitchers threw for the Bobcats with none of them going longer than the 2.2 innings from starter Brandon Lewis.
 
For the first time in seven games, the Bobcats did not score in the first inning. Instead, UTSA put a run up on the board, but Texas State struck back in the top of the third. Lovejoy drew a two-out walk to set up Ortega. With two strikes, he nailed a double to left centerfield, and Lovejoy used his speed to score all the way from first base, tying it up, 1-1.
 
The Roadrunners answered in the bottom of the third with their second run of the day. Two walks and two singles put UTSA up, 2-1. With two outs and the bases loaded, Hubbard made a nice snag on a line drive to third base to close the inning out and limit UTSA to just one run in the inning.
 
Studdard would ensure the lead was short-lived with his homer in the top of the fourth to tie it up, 2-2. Studdard sent a straight shot to right centerfield.
 
The bottom of the fifth inning started with two walks and a single to load the bases for UTSA. The Roadrunners drew a bases-loaded walk to go ahead, and then added two more runs on a bases-loaded hit up the middle for a 5-2 UTSA lead. The Roadrunners kept the pressure on and would score four more runs before the inning was over to claim a 9-2 lead for UTSA.
 
In the top of the seventh, the Bobcats were able to close the gap with a solo home run from Hoffman, his first of the season. After that, Huber knocked a single up the middle and Lovejoy sent a single to the outfield. Next, Ortega legged out an infield single to load the bases and set up the Bobcats to score another run on a groundout. Huber crossed the plate to pull the Bobcats within five, 9-4.
 
After the strong offensive inning for the Bobcats, the Roadrunners countered with three more runs. Texas State, though, bounced back in the eighth inning. Hill and Hubbard hit back-to-back singles to start the inning. With two on base, Hoffman launched his second home run of the day to close the UTSA lead to 12-7. The Roadrunners, though, scored two more runs in the bottom of the eighth to cap the game.
 
Texas State returns to the friendly confines of Bobcat Ballpark to host Appalachian State for a three-game series this weekend with games at 6 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday.