SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State extended the team's winning streak to five consecutive games with a 4-1 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Wednesday night. The victory pushes the Bobcat season record to 20-10.
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The Bobcats were the first to score with three runs in the fourth inning, prompted by back-to-back singles from
Tanner Hill and
Cory Geisler. Hill scored later on a wild pitch while
Luke Sherley knocked in Geisler. After that,
Jonathan Ortega drove
Nick Perez in with a single to give Texas State an early 3-0 lead.
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Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was able to score a run in the fifth, but the best opportunity for the Islanders came in the seventh when they loaded the bases with no outs.
Joe Powell stepped up to the mound and struck out three consecutive batters to keep TAMUCC scoreless in the inning. The Bobcats followed with another run in the bottom of the frame when Ortega scored on a
Granger Studdard hit up the middle.
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In addition to Powell's strong performance on the mound,
Brandon Lewis earned the win in the longest outing of his short career. He walked two and gave up one earned run but struck three out.
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WHO STOOD OUTJoe Powell / RHP / Senior / Dallas, TexasPowell entered with bases loaded in the top of the seventh and struck three consecutive batters out to hold Texas A&M-Corpus Christi without a run. He more than doubled his season output to this point, moving his season strikeout total from two up to five.
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Jonathan Ortega / IF / Freshman / Victoria, TexasOrtega led the Bobcats from the plate with three hits on the night, finishing 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI.
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Pasquale Mazzoccoli / RHP / Senior / Katy, TexasMazzoccoli pitched the ninth inning, and in just eight pitches shut the Islanders down for his eighth save of the season, tying him for third all-time for saves in a season at Texas State.
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SCORING RECAPS- Bottom 4th – Tanner Hill and Cory Geisler started the inning with back-to-back singles and Jaylen Hubbard followed with a sacrifice bunt to push them both into scoring position. Hill, from third, scored on a wild pitch, and a Luke Sherley groundout brought in Geisler for a 2-0 lead. After that, Nick Perez walked, and Jared Huber singled up the middle. With two on base, Jonathan Ortega knocked a single to right centerfield to score Perez and push the lead to 3-0. (3 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on base)
- Top 5th – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi used three singles to load the bases and scored on a fielder's choice to close the gap to 3-1. (1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on base)
- Bottom 7th – Ortega leads off with a single to left field, and Ryan Newman pushed him to third with a single. Granger Studdard drove Ortega in with a single up the middle for a 4-1 Texas State lead. (1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on base)
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NOTES- Career-long outing for freshman Brandon Lewis, going a full five innings and only giving up one earned run, two walks with three strikeouts.
- Pasquale Mazzoccoli earned his eighth save of the season moving him into a tie for third most saves in a season all-time at Texas State.
- With three hits Wednesday night, Jonathan Ortega pushes his team-leading hit total to 45 for the season.
- Granger Studdard extended his reached-base streak to 20 games with two hits while Ortega extends his streak to 18.
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NEXT UPNext up for the Bobcats will be a weekend series against non-conference opponent Nevada at 6 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. The Bobcats have only played Nevada once in the all-time series, a 7-1 victory for the Wolf Pack in 1997.
Head Coach Ty Harrington Discusses His Victory and Looks Toward NevadaPitcher Joe Powell Talks about His Big PerformanceFreshman Jonathan Ortega Reflects on His Three-Hit Performance
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