SAN MARCOS, Texas – It was a tale of two games on Saturday as the Texas State baseball team (2-1) split a doubleheader with Utah Valley (1-2) Saturday at Bobcat Ballpark. The Bobcats won the first game by run rule 14-4 in eight innings but dropped the second contest 5-3.
 
GAME 1: TEXAS STATE 14, UTAH VALLEY 4 (8 INN.)
An offensive slugfest took place in the afternoon as the team's combined for 15 runs over the first four innings with the Wolverines plating two runs each in the first and third frames. TXST tallied two in the first, four each in the second and third, and a run in the fourth to hold the lead.
 
Texas State got another run in the seventh and Ryan Leary hit a pinch hit two-run double to right center in the eighth to put the run-rule into effect.
 
Seven different batters recorded two hits as the Bobcats finished with 16 in the game. Five different players finished with two runs and six players scored at least twice with Dalton Shuffield setting a career-high by scoring four times.
 
August Ramirez hit a home run and double in his first career start in a TXST uniform. Smacking a triple was Isaiah Ortega-Jones and Shuffield finished with a double.
 
On the rubber, redshirt freshman Carson Keithley (1-0) picked up the win after throwing 3.2 shutout innings of relief with three strikeouts. Luke McCollough (0-1) allowed nine runs on nine hits over three innings to take the loss.
 
Triston Dixon made his first career start and went 4.1 innings. In that time, he struck out four while giving up four runs, two of them earned, on seven hits.
 
GAME 2: UTAH VALLEY 5, TEXAS STATE 3
The night cap began as a pitchers' duel as the starters Levi Wells and Mason Gray combined to allow only six hits. The biggest hit that was allowed between the two was a home run off the bat of the Wolverines' Kayler Yates in the second.
 
Daylan Pena put the Bobcats on the board in the sixth went hit smashed the first pitch he saw into the netting above the left field fence for his first collegiate home run.
 
UVU was able to get to the Bobcats' hurlers in the eight with four runs. Ben McClain started the bottom of the frame with a double down the left field line. After moving up to third on a deep fly out, Jose Gonzalez laced a single to center to cut the deficit to three. Wesley Faison drew a walk to put two on with two gone. A 2-1 offering was hit hard to left field by Justin Thompson but the Wolverine's Trey Cutchen made a diving catch to end the threat.
 
Shuffield led off the bottom of the ninth with a blast to left center. Peyton Lewis nearly made it back-to-back dingers but his shot to right center was caught at the wall. Following a Cameron Gibbons single, McClain hit a deep fly to center that was also caught at the warning track and Nick Sims got a strikeout to close out the game.
 
Andrew Hauck (1-0) picked up the win as he went 2.2 innings out of the bullpen and Sims got the final four outs for his first save of the season. Suffering the loss was Cameron Bush (0-1) as he surrendered four runs on two hits in 1.1 innings.
 
The opening weekend series concludes on Sunday at 12 p.m.