SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State baseball team vanquished defending national champion and No. 20-ranked Coastal Carolina 5-4 Friday night in 14 innings at Bobcat Ballpark. The contest was the first Sun Belt Conference action of the season for both clubs.
 
The victory was sealed when sophomore Ryan Newman led off the bottom of the 14th with a walkoff home run. The shot was the first walkoff of his career and the third of the season for the Bobcats (Purdue, Feb. 18 / Richmond, March 5).
 
TXST (11-7, 1-0 SBC) welcomed the Chanticleers (11-8, 0-1 SBC) into their new league by topping the reigning NCAA champions in a marathon bout that lasted nearly five hours. Texas State was hosting a defending champ for the first time in school history, and the triumph marked the first time since March 18, 2003, that the maroon and gold took down the previous years' champion (3-1 victory at Texas).
 
This was also the second time in 2017 that TXST defeated a ranked opponent. The Bobcats toppled then-No. 22 Oklahoma State 12-11 on Feb. 27.
 
Friday's upset victory began on a high note for the visitors, as CCU scored twice in the third and once in the seventh to take a 3-0 lead.
 
The comeback began after the seventh-inning stretch, when junior Theodore Hoffman led off the frame with his team-leading sixth home run of the season. The mark is also a new career high for the right fielder.
 
Junior Derek Scheible led off the eighth with a solo shot of his own – his career-high fourth round-tripper of the campaign – and Hoffman would later tie the game on a two-out RBI double from sophomore Jaylen Hubbard.
 
The Chanticleers got the leadoff batter on base in the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th innings, but the only time they could plate the runner – in the 12th – the Bobcats were able to counter with an unearned run from sophomore Jonathan Ortega to keep the score tied at 4-4.
 
CCU was sat down in order in the top of the 14th, and that set the stage for Newman's heroics. The two teams combined to leave 14 runners on base in extra innings before Newman was able to end proceedings with the 10th homer of his career.
 
He finished the game with a career-high five hits (5-for-7), while posting an RBI and a run scored on the walkoff home run. Three of his hits came in extra innings. Hubbard went 3-for-6 at the plate, and Hoffman and junior Jared Huber both had two hits. Hoffman drove in a run and scored twice.
 
Junior Blake Walden (4-0) tossed the final 3.0 innings and earned his conference-leading fourth victory of the season on the mound. He only conceded one hit, while striking out three and walking four.
 
Sophomore Connor Reich took the ball first and gave up three runs on nine hits, while walking just three. He posted career highs in innings pitched (6.1), strikeouts (7) and pitches thrown (103). Classmate Anthony Pagano threw the next 4.2 frames and only gave up one run on three hits, while striking out four and walking two.
 
Chanticleer reliever Patrick Orlando (1-1) took the loss after allowing the walkoff homer. He pitched just 0.2 innings and conceded two hits. Alex Cunningham started for CCU and took a no-decision after 6.2 frames. He gave up one run on five hits, while striking out six. Bobby Holmes and Austin Kitchen bridged the 5.2-inning gap between Cunningham and Orlando by combining for three runs allowed on eight hits, while striking out seven and walking two.
 
Peyton Isaacson and Jordan Gore paced Coastal Carolina's offense with three hits each. Gore drove in a run and scored twice. Dalton Ewing went 2-for-6.
 
Kevin Woodall, Jr. entered the contest as the nation's leader in home runs with nine, and, for the first game of the weekend series, the trio of Bobcat pitchers were able to keep him inside the park. He finished just 1-for-5 with a meaningless single in the second inning.
 
Texas State outhit CCU 15-13, and the Chanticleers finished with three errors to zero for the home club.
 
Friday's outing was also the longest game for the Bobcats since a 6-5 loss in 14 innings at UTA on May 11, 2013.
 
The two teams will continue the SBC-opening series at 4 p.m. March 18. The contest will be broadcast regionally on Spectrum Sports (channel 323 in Texas). The Bobcats are scheduled to face Andrew Beckwith (0-1), who was selected as the SBC Preseason Pitcher of the Year. He was also a second team All-American last season and was honored as a preseason first team All-American prior to this year. Texas State will counter with sophomore Wes Engle (2-0).
 
TEXAS STATE COACH TY HARRINGTON
Opening Statement…
"Our pitching was really good tonight. It started at the very beginning with Connor Reich. Originally he was going to be our Friday guy, and he didn't throw well initially. We brought him back slowly through the bullpen, and he earned the right to get out there as a starter. He looked like a Friday night starter tonight. (Anthony Pagano) has been starting on Friday's for us, so they made a great combination out there between those two. When we brought Pags into the game (in the seventh inning), (Coastal Carolina) was only able to score one run. That was a huge event for us at that point in time. They could have popped the game right then, and it would have been hard for us to bounce back. (CCU starting pitcher Alex Cunningham) was extremely good tonight. Both teams were incredibly competitive. We had two opportunities to win the game when we loaded the bases (in the 11th and 13th innings). It's extremely challenging to muster up the confidence to go back out on that field when you have victory at your fingertips and it doesn't work out for you. Our guys were really good in that area tonight. Their emotion was good. It helps when your pitcher goes out there and throws as well as (Blake) Walden did. It is college baseball. So tonight we were able to win, but we still have another game tomorrow. Hopefully we take some of that momentum and emotion with us and we come out ready to go tomorrow."
 
On Ryan Newman's performance…
"He's such a good hitter. He was an accomplished hitter as a freshman last year. He had five hits tonight. He was really dialed in. When you play great teams, you have to dial it in and be razor sharp. Obviously when you have five hits, your at bats are all really good. He ran into a pitch and he was able to earn the walkoff homer for us. He has the ability to do that, so I was proud for him. He's usually a really reserved player, but tonight he was a little more emotional throughout the game. His will to win came through with a big swing of the bat."
 
On preparing for the rest of the series…
"This was a great college baseball game. It was fun. Fourteen innings is a long time. We played almost five hours. The life of a baseball player is so unique and crazy. You have moments where you have highs like this, and you wake up the next day and you have to go do it again. The same thing happens when you lose a game like this. You still wake up the next day and you move your feet again. That's the life of a baseball player. What you hope you gain from moments like this is, when it's late in a game, your team always has that belief and sensation that they can do what they just did. That's important."

-TxStateBobcats.com-