BOONE, N.C. – The Texas State baseball team won both games of a doubleheader to secure a series sweep over Appalachian State Saturday at Smith Stadium.
 
The Bobcats (16-8, 5-1 SBC) won the first game by a 7-4 margin before blanking the Mountaineers (10-14, 1-5 SBC) 2-0 in the nightcap. The two teams played twice due to potential rain in the Sunday forecast.
 
TXST is now on a season high five-game win streak and improved its record to 13-2 in March. The Bobcats also lead the Sun Belt Conference in victories both overall and in league play, while improving to 9-0 all-time against Appalachian State.
 
Texas State returns home for a midweek tilt with SEC foe Texas A&M. The Bobcats and Aggies will meet at 6:05 p.m. March 28 at Bobcat Ballpark in a game that will be broadcast regionally on Spectrum Sports Channel 323.
 
TEXAS STATE 7, APPALACHIAN STATE 4
Texas State fended off multiple bases-loaded situations and scored three runs across the final two frames to break a 4-4 tie and clinch the series victory.
 
The Bobcats initially used a three-run fourth to take a 4-1 advantage, but the Mountaineers scored once in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to tie the contest. App loaded the bases in the third, fourth and fifth, but could only muster one run across those three frames.
 
Junior Mickey Scott and true freshman Zachary Leigh both scored in the eighth on RBI singles from junior Derek Scheible and sophomore Jonathan Ortega. That allowed Texas State to take a 6-4 lead, and the maroon and gold tacked on an insurance marker in the top of the ninth to earn the three-run triumph.
 
Junior Theodore Hoffman went 3-for-5 to pace the Bobcats. He scored twice and drove in one run. Ortega and sophomore Felipe Rodriguez both registered two hits and two RBIs, and Rodriguez also scored once.
 
Sophomore Wes Engle pitched the first 5.0 innings and conceded three runs (two earned) on five hits to collect the no-decision. He struck out three and walked six. Classmate Anthony Pagano (2-1) tossed the last 4.0 frames to earn the second victory of his career. He only gave up one run on just four this, while striking out one and not allowing a free pass.
 
Texas State outhit Appalachian State 14-9 and had two errors to zero for the home club.
 
Chandler Seagle and Brian Bauk both finished with two hits and were the only Mountaineers with multiple base knocks.
 
Colin Schmid (3-3) was tagged with the loss after giving up six runs on nine hits in the first 7.1 innings. Schmid entered the game ranked fifth in the conference in ERA at 1.91. He had allowed just seven earned runs before the Bobcats nearly doubled that mark. His new ERA is just less than 3.00.
 
Matt Schaeffer logged 1.2 frames of relief and finished with one run allowed on five hits.
 
TEXAS STATE 2, APPALACHIAN STATE 0
Texas State had just three hits in the series finale with zero coming after the second frame, but the Mountaineers were unable to take advantage and were shutout for the fourth time this season.
 
The first run came in the top of the first, when junior Luke Sherley smartly advanced home during a rundown by Ortega between first and second. Sherley initially reached base on an infield single and advanced to third on a single through the right side from Ortega.
 
The only other tally of the day came from Scheible, who scored on three-straight wild pitches in the sixth. He was hit by a pitch to leadoff the frame and used three wild pitches to move around the base paths. He leads the SBC with 28 runs scored this season.
 
True freshman Cole Coffey was the only other Bobcat with a hit in the contest, as the Mountaineers outhit TXST 6-3.
 
True freshman Nicholas Fraze (3-1) earned the win on the mound after shutting down the home club through 6.2 innings of work. He allowed six hits, struck out two and only walked one. Junior Blake Walden – the nation's leader in victories – earned Texas State's first save of the campaign after tossing 2.1 frames of relief. He did not give up a hit.
 
Avery Jackson went 2-for-3 to pace Appalachian State at the plate.
 
Luke Watts (1-2) was saddled with the loss after conceding both runs on three hits. He struck out six and walked just one. Both Tristan Helms (0.1) and Sean Mason (2.2) saw time on the mound and combined for no hits allowed and four K's.
 
TEXAS STATE TO HELP RAISE COLON CANCER AWARENESS TUESDAY
The Texas State and Texas A&M baseball programs will wear blue laces in their matchup at 6 p.m. March 28 at Bobcat Ballpark to help raise awareness for colon cancer and to help benefit Kiel Colon Cancer.
 
The mission of the organization is to decrease the number of preventable deaths caused by colon cancer through education and awareness initiative, encouraging healthy lifestyle choices and supporting colon cancer research. The founder of the organization, George Kiel III, is a Texas State graduate.
 
For more information, visit kielcoloncancer.org.

TEXAS STATE PITCHING COACH JEREMY FIKAC
Opening statement…
"We were competitive all weekend. Wes Engle had six walks. That's something he was beating himself up over at the end of the first game. Our guys are in the right frame of mind right now. They're competitive, and it hurts them when they don't do well. That shows that we have a bunch of players that care. That's probably one of the most important things. What I'm starting to realize about this group is when the offense is going and the pitchers aren't, they pick each other up. In the second game today, we got three hits and scored two runs. Our pitching picked the offense up. The offense has been fantastic for us all year long, and that's the sign of a good team."
 
On finding a way to win despite three hits in the series finale…
"Hopefully that gives our pitchers a lot of confidence. Within our first eight or so games I'd probably tell you that our pitchers were walking around searching for it. But now we're throwing the ball so much better. To have a freshman throw his second shutout of the year is big. (Nicholas Fraze) competed and threw the ball really well today. There's a lot of confidence as a team right now. We hope to get better and continue to build on what we've done so far this season."  
 
On winning 13 of the last 15 games and leading the SBC with 16 wins this season…
"They're playing with confidence right now. You look back at all the comeback wins that we've had and you see a group that never quits. That's the best thing I can tell you about it. Over the last 15 games, our practices have gotten better. The intensity level is there. We're led by some key players. We're 13-2 since Luke Sherley has been back. Between him, (Jonathan) Ortega and a couple of other players, there's just always energy in our dugout. Our team has players that are always engaged in what's going on, and that's infectious. This whole group believes they're good enough to win a conference championship and get into postseason play. They won't take no for an answer right now. It's fun to be a part of."

-TxStateBobcats.com-