SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State baseball team defeated UTA 7-6 in the first game of a Sun Belt Conference series Thursday night at Bobcat Ballpark.
 
The Bobcats (26-28, 12-16 SBC) won a series opener for the first time since April 7 at Little Rock, while the Mavericks (29-23, 19-9 SBC) have now dropped five-straight games overall.
 
The victory ensures that TXST can now finish anywhere from Nos. 7-9 in the final regular-season standings. The only way the Bobcats can finish No. 7 in the league is if they sweep UTA and the Arkansas State/Little Rock series does not end in a sweep.
 
UTA is still looking to win the SBC West Division Championship. The Mavericks need just one win over Texas State or one loss from Louisiana (at ULM) in the final two days of the regular season to clinch the West.
 
The Bobcats jumped on top early and were able to fend off a late charge from the visitors to secure the opener.
 
Texas State scored a pair of first-inning runs on a two-RBI single up the middle from sophomore Jaylen Hubbard. Fellow sophomore Jonathan Ortega initially singled through the left side, and junior Dylan Paul reached based on an infield single before they were both driven home by Hubbard.
 
Paul extended his team- and career-best hitting streak to 15 games. He is one shy of recording the longest hitting streak by a Bobcat since 2012 (Jeff McVaney, 19 games).
 
Both teams added solo tallies in the fourth, and the maroon and gold blew the game open with a four-spot in the fifth thanks to back-to-back home runs from Hubbard and junior Theodore Hoffman.
 
UTA was able to crawl back with three in the sixth and two in the seventh, but a timely double play in the eighth and a 1-2-3 frame in the ninth sealed the win for TXST.
 
Hubbard, Ortega and sophomore Felipe Rodriguez all had two hits. Ortega scored twice, Hoffman finished with three RBIs, and Hubbard tallied three runs batted in and two runs scored.
 
True freshman Nicholas Fraze (5-2) earned the win after allowing just one run on two hits across the first 4.0 innings. He is now tied for the team lead for victories on the mound this season.
 
Sophomore Brandon Lewis allowed five runs (two earned) on six hits in 2.1 frames, and classmate Connor Reich did not allow a run on one hit in one inning of work. Sophomore Brayden Theriot collected his first career save after tossing a perfect 1.2 innings to close out the triumph.
 
UTA starter Kadon Simmons (7-4) was tagged with a rare loss after giving up six runs on seven hits in the opening 4.1 frames. Dylan Schneider tossed the final 3.2 innings and allowed one run on two hits.
 
Omar Salinas had four of UTA's nine hits, and he scored three times. Christian Hollie went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Noah Vaughan drove in two teammates.
 
The game was broadcast live on Spectrum Sports. This marked the fifth such game for Texas State this season, and the Bobcats are now 3-2 in those contests with additional victories coming over Rice and Texas.
 
The two teams will continue the weekend series at 6 p.m. May 19.

TEXAS STATE COACH TY HARRINGTON
Opening statement…
"It was important for us just to get a win. We have been harping on the guys to try to find a way to get some momentum heading into next week (SBC Championship). When you win, you feel better. When you feel better, you get more confidence. So trying to get our guys feeling better was important for us. Overall, offensively, we were really good the first six innings of the game. We scored, but we also landed on a bunch of other baseballs that we made good swings at. (UTA is) a good baseball team, and we let them crawl back into the game. When you get right down to it, Brayden Theriot was the difference in the game. He came in with (UTA's) best guy at the plate, and he got a double play. He also went back out there and closed out the ninth. That was the difference in the game."
 
On the offensive performance…
"It was good to see. We played like we were ahead, so that changes their approach. It was important. As I said, we're trying to gain some momentum going into next week. The best way to gain momentum is to play really well, execute what we're capable of doing and take that with them."
 
-TxStateBobcats.com-