SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State baseball team earned a 7-6 walkoff victory over Stephen F. Austin Sunday evening at Bobcat Ballpark.
 
The Bobcats (6-4) completed the series sweep over the Lumberjacks (0-10) after putting the finishing touches on a 6-3 triumph earlier in the day. The two teams finished up the final four innings of Saturday's suspended action before playing the finale.
 
SFA looked to be well on its way to splitting the series and picking up its first victory of the season after racing out to a 4-0 lead after the first three innings. Texas State needed just two frames to get within one, but the visitors scored twice in the top of the fifth to gain a 6-3 advantage.
 
The rest of the game was all Bobcats. Senior Dylan Paul began his theatrics with an RBI double in the home half of the fifth for TXST's fourth run of the game. His double brought around fellow senior Derek Scheible, who scored again in the bottom of the seventh to cut SFA's lead down to just 6-5.
 
That set the stage for a phrenetic ninth. Scheible led off with a disciplined walk and ventured to second on a sacrifice bunt from junior Jonathan Ortega. Paul then stepped to the plate and ripped a ball that hit just below the 405-foot marker in straightaway center field. Paul tripled and raced home after the fielder bobbled the ball to complete the sweep of the Lumberjacks.
 
Scheible went 1-for-2 and scored four times, while Paul was 2-for-5 and recorded a pair of RBIs and the game-winning run.
 
Senior Cam Baird (1-0) threw 3.1 scoreless innings of relief and struck out four to earn his second-career victory donning the maroon and gold. Junior Brandon Lewis took the hill first and left after allowing five runs on three hits across the first 4.0 frames. He struck out two and walked five. Sophomore Broc Bosse tossed the next 1.2 innings and gave up one run on one hit, while striking out two and walking three.
 
Skylar Black went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored to pace SFA. Jared Martin had one hit, one RBI and two runs scored.
 
SFA used five pitchers in the game, with Tyler Starks (0-2) suffering the loss. He gave up three runs on one hit – Paul's game-winning triple – in 2.1 innings.
 
The Bobcats will remain home for their next contest, which is scheduled to be a 6:30 p.m. tilt March 6 against Rice. The Owls defeated Texas State 8-6 in Houston Feb. 20.
 
TEXAS STATE HEAD COACH TY HARRINGTON
Opening Statement…
"I'm proud of our team for finding a way to win. There are a lot of areas where we have to improve. Certainly, we'll go back to work with Rice coming in on Tuesday, and we'll keep continuing to improve. (Stephen F. Austin was) playing with their backs against the wall. I thought they were incredibly competitive going all the way back to last night. Emotionally they were locked in, and I knew (SFA coach) Johnny (Cardenas) would have them ready to play."
 
On Cam Baird's performance Sunday…
"We needed somebody to come in and slow the game down for us. We couldn't seem to get a zero on the scoreboard for (SFA). We needed to get a zero where maybe we could cut the distance down. Cam Baird did just that. He went out there and pitched really well. In the ninth (SFA) got a leadoff double, and they were able to move him over to third. Cam was able to strike out two of their better hitters back-to-back. That was obviously huge."
 
On the team's mentality…
"Their competitiveness has been good this year. Sometimes we've even been overcompetitive. We're overanxious and trying too hard in different areas. I felt like they kept grinding and kept battling. We wanted (Stephen F. Austin) to have to earn it."
 
On earning a sweep…
"It's always great to earn a sweep. We need those. When we get opportunities to win at home, we need to take advantage of that. This was obviously important for our momentum going forward."
 
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