SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State baseball team took down UTRGV 11-9 Wednesday evening inside Bobcat Ballpark.
 
The Bobcats improved to 19-11 on the year, while UTRGV slipped to 18-15.
 
UTRGV initially pushed two across in the top of the first, but a team-leading ninth home run from junior Theodore Hoffman in the bottom of the frame would give the maroon and gold the early 3-2 advantage.
 
UTRGV plated two more in the top of the second, but true freshman Cole Coffey found his way home on an error a half frame later to keep the score locked at 4-4. Sophomore Ryan Newman scored in the bottom of the third thanks to another error, and the Bobcats kept the lead for good the rest of the way.
 
TXST added two more in the bottom of the fourth, but UTRGV countered with individual tallies in the sixth and seventh to keep the Texas State advantage at 7-6.
 
A solo run in the seventh and three more in the eighth for the home club would be enough to stave off a late three-run rally from the visitors in the top of the ninth. UTRGV loaded the bases in the final frame, but Austin Siener flew out to end the game.
 
Five different Bobcats registered two hits each as they outhit UTRGV 13-11. The visitors led in errors 5-2.
 
Ortega finished with four RBIs and one run scored, while Hoffman tallied three RBIs and two runs. Junior Derek Scheible went 0-for-2, but he walked three times and scored three runs. He has now walked six times in the past two games. Sophomore Jacob Almendarez scored twice.
 
Senior Brandon Courville (2-2) collected the victory on the mound. He threw 4.1 innings and conceded one run on two hits, while striking out three and walking four in a relief performance. Sophomore Brandon Lewis started the game and saw his first action since Feb. 25. He picked up the no-decision after conceding four runs on four hits, while walking three in 1.0 inning. Others to pitch on the staff day included junior Blake Walden, sophomore Brayden Theriot and true freshmen Broc Bosse and Zachary Leigh.
 
Cris Castillo and Joseph Collazo both had three hits. Castillo drove in two runs and Collazo scored twice. Tyler Torres finished 2-for-4 and Noah Lee scored three times.
 
UTRGV used one pitcher for each inning, with George Lamb (0-1) suffering the loss after allowing the go-ahead unearned run in the third. He allowed three hits. Eddie Delgado started the game and left after allowing three runs on one hit.
 
Texas State is now set to travel to Little Rock, Arkansas, for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series with Little Rock April 7-9.
 
TEXAS STATE COACH TY HARRINGTON
Opening Statement…
"This was a long night, but the most important thing is we found a way to win. We did some good things offensively. Brandon Courville came into the game and slowed things down. He gave us a chance to get back in the game. Broc Bosse minimized what could have been a bigger inning for (UTRGV) when he came into the game (in the sixth). That's just how this game is. It's a crazy game. If you don't take care of the baseball and you don't throw enough strikes, you can create tense moments like what happened at the end of the game. (Jonathan Ortega) came through for us in the eighth. That was huge, especially now with the way the score ended up. There were some other good at-bats for us. (Theodore Hoffman) was able to hit a homer when the wind was still blowing in pretty hard."
 
On Brandon Courville…
"At first he walked some guys. He's a finesse pitcher. He ended up walking four. He can't do that, and he knows that. But he was finally able to settle down and get the ball in the strike zone enough."
 
-TxStateBobcats.com-