ARLINGTON, Texas – On a night when both Texas State and UT Arlington were looking to conserve pitching, what happened? Well, they went 12 innings in a thriller that saw the Bobcats come out on top, 4-3, to improve to 29-25 on the season and 15-13 in the Sun Belt Conference, only bettering the team's position for the SBC Championship Tournament.
The Bobcats only gave up five hits in a game in which the pitching staff was on fire.
Lucas Humpal,
Cory Geisler,
Chase Hodson and
Pasquale Mazzoccoli combined for a season-high 15 strikeouts. Geisler struck out five while Humpal and Hodson each had four, Hodson doing it en route to his fourth win of the season. Mazzoccoli finished the Mavericks up with two more strikeouts in the 12
th inning for his SBC-leading 13
th save of the season, a Texas State record.
As good as the pitching was, it was a first-pitch swing from
Mickey Scott that put the Bobcats on top. After
Derek Scheible drew a leadoff walk and
Luke Sherley pushed him to second with a sacrifice bunt, Scott came up to the plate with two outs looking for his first hit of the night. He liked the first pitch and drove it to centerfield to bring the speedy Scheible around and put the Bobcats up, 4-3.
It was the second big run of the game for Texas State as the Bobcats entered the ninth inning trailing, 3-2. It was another walk that started the offense for the Bobcats, this one from freshman
Anthony Pagano.
Jacob Almendarez took second on a wild pitch after entering to pinch run. That's when
Ryan Newman legged out a slow-rolling infield single to put runners at the corners for Texas State. Sherley put down one of his three sacrifice bunts of the game to plate Almendarez and tie the game.
The Bobcats will throw
Jeremy Hallonquist tomorrow, looking for the team's 16
th win in conference play.
WHO STOOD OUT
Pitching Staff – Lucas Humpal, Cory Geisler, Chase Hodson, Pasquale Mazzoccoli
The Bobcat pitchers tallied a season-high 15 strikeouts against the UT Arlington Mavericks Thursday night. They only gave up three hits. In six of the 12 innings, the Bobcats retired UTA in order. Of the five hits Texas State gave up, three went to Brady Cox, leaving just two for the rest of the Mavericks.
Mickey Scott, Ryan Newman, Luke Sherley
Scott came up with the big hit in the 12
th inning to bring in the winning run. It was a well-hit ball driven to centerfield. Meanwhile, Newman tallied three of Texas State's eight hits in the game. Sherley proved to be the consummate teammate with three sacrifice bunts on the night.
SCORING RECAP
- Top 1st – Dylan Paul knocked a one-out single, and went all the way to third base on a nice hit-and-run when Tanner Hill drove a single up the middle. Granger Studdard brought in Paul with a sacrifice fly to left field. (1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on base)
- Bottom 1st – UT Arlington drew a walk, and then the third hitter hit a triple to right field to tie the game, 1-1. After the triple, a groundout plated the runner at third to put UTA up a run. (2 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on base)
- Top 4th – Studdard drew a leadoff walk and went to second base on a base hit from Ryan Newman. With runners at first and second, Luke Sherley drove a single to right field to bring in Studdard and tie the game, 2-2. (1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on base)
- Bottom 8th – A hit by pitch put a runner on base to start the at bat, then UTA sacrifice bunted the runner to second. A one-out single to left field allowed the runner to score to put the Mavericks up, 3-2. (1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on base)
- Top 9th – Freshman Anthony Pagano entered to pinch hit and drew a walk. Jacob Almendarez entered to pinch run and took second on a wild pitch. Newman pushed him to third base when he legged out an infield single. With runners at the corners and just one out, Sherley laid down a sacrifice bunt to bring in Almendarez and tie the game, 3-3. (1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 left on base)
- Top 12th – Derek Scheible drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on another Sherley sacrifice bunt. With two outs, Mickey Scott swung at the first pitch of the at bat for a single to centerfield, bringing in Scheible and putting the Bobcats up, 4-3.
NOTES
- Texas State is 15-0 when scoring in the first inning, 23-7 when scoring first in a game, and 13-0 when leading after one inning.
- The 15 strikeouts for the Bobcat pitchers was a season high for the team.
- Pasquale Mazzoccoli earned his 13th save of the season to improve upon his school record and keep the lead in the Sun Belt.
- With a hit in the second and fourth innings, Ryan Newman tallied his 16th multi-hit game of the season. In the ninth, he hit a huge infield single for his third hit of the game, his first three-hit game since May 8 against Georgia State.
- The Bobcats are 2-5 in extra innings this season.
NEXT UP
The Bobcats will continue the series against the Mavericks at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday before returning to San Marcos to host the Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament May 25-29.
