SAN MARCOS, Texas – It did not take long to realize it would be a great day to be a Bobcat at Bobcat Ballpark on Saturday. Texas State showed no mercy with an impressive 16-0 victory over Appalachian State to improve to 14-5 overall and 5-0 in the Sun Belt Conference.
Jeremy Hallonquist put together a strong day on the mound while the Bobcat bats just kept racking up hits en route to the victory.
Â
Hallonquist went eight innings, tallying four strikeouts and giving up only four hits to Appalachian State. He did not walk a single batter or give up any runs with 91 pitches on the day. The senior improved his ERA to a mere 0.47 for the season.
Â
His offensive support surely gave him confidence throughout the game. In the third inning, the Bobcats scored six runs and added three more in the fourth for a quick 9-0 lead. The Bobcat bats added seven more runs combined in the sixth and eighth innings.
Â
Theodore Hoffman continues his outstanding week. After belting two home runs in the midweek game at UTSA he knocked out his third home run in as many games, a three-RBI roundtripper, and finished the day 3-for-5 with five RBIs, three runs scored and a walk, boosting his batting average up to .364.
Â
Hoffman wasn't the only Bobcat to send one yard Saturday as
Dylan Paul knocked his first career home run. Both home runs were impressive as winds gusted up to 28 miles per hour at Bobcat Ballpark on Saturday. Paul went on to finish 3-for-4 with four RBIs, two runs and a walk.
Â
In addition to that duo,
Granger Studdard went 3-for-4 with three runs while both
Luke Sherley and
Ryan Newman added two hits apiece.
Jared Huber racked up three RBIs on three walks and a hit in a game in which he wasn't retired.
Â
As a team, the Bobcats drew nine walks and hit 17 hits with 15 RBIs to score their 16 runs. Every spot in the lineup tallied a hit in the game.
Â
The Bobcats struck first in the third inning. Sherley started off with a single to left field, and Studdard pushed him all the way to third base on a single through the right side. With two men on base, Hoffman knocked his home run to put the Bobcats up, 3-0.
Â
After a hit for Newman and a walk for Paul,
Cody Lovejoy loaded the bases with his second walk of the day. With the bases juiced, Huber hit a high bouncer to right field to plate two more runs and push the Texas State lead to 5-0. The Bobcats added one more when Lovejoy scored on a
Jonathan Ortega base hit for a 6-0 Bobcat lead.
Â
The Bobcats kept it rolling in the bottom of the fourth inning. Sherley started the inning by reaching base on an error, and Studdard followed with his second hit of the day through the right side. After that, Hoffman worked the count for a walk to load the bases. Paul brought in two runners with a high bouncer to left field. Lovejoy plated another run in the next at-bat with a sacrifice bunt to bring in Hoffman and put the Bobcats up 9-0.
Â
Texas State continued to apply pressure into the sixth inning. A hit by pitch and back-to-back singles for Hoffman and Newman loaded the bases for Paul. He sent a single through the right side to plate Studdard, and, two batters later, Huber drew his third walk of the day, this one with bases loaded for another run and an 11-0 Texas State lead. The Bobcats pushed the lead up one more run when Ortega also drew a bases-loaded walk.
Â
The Bobcats continued to pile on in the eighth inning. Paul knocked his first career home run while Sherley tallied his 24
th hit of the season to match his 2015 total already. Hoffman pushed his RBI count up to five with a two-RBI double to left centerfield. In all, the Bobcats scored four runs on six hits in the eighth to push the lead to 16-0, the final score.
Â
Texas State and the Mountaineers will complete the weekend series with an 11 a.m. matchup on Sunday. Senior lefty
Cory Geisler will be on the mound for the Bobcats.
Head Coach Ty Harrington Reacts to 16-0 VictorySenior pitcher Jeremy Hallonquist Talkes About His Strong PerformanceSophomore Dylan Paul Touches on His Day and the Bobcat Offense
Â
