SAN MARCOS, Texas – Freshman Daylan Pena went 3-for-3 at the plate and drove in three runs in helping the 15th-ranked Texas State baseball team (15-3) to an 8-2 win Tuesday night over Prairie View A&M in front of 1,405 fans at Bobcat Ballpark. The Bobcats' start is the best in program history through 18 games.
 
A career long outing of seven innings with four strikeouts while limiting the Panthers to a run on three hits was Trevis Sundgren (2-1) to earn the win. Derrick Curry (0-2) allowed four runs on five hits in 4.1 innings to take the loss.
 
Pitching an inning of relief was Dylan Kerbow, who made his collegiate debut on the mound, and Matthew Nicholas struck out two.
 
Jose Gonzalez was the only other Bobcat with multiple hits on the night with two including his fifth double of the season. Justin Thompson finish with two RBI.
 
Battling to a 3-2 count, Gonzalez smashed a double off the left field wall. Wesley Faison followed by drawing a walk and the duo moved up a base on a wild pitch. Thompson sent a 1-0 pitch back up the middle to plate both runners. After Thompson swiped second, Pena singled to right center to put TXST ahead 3-0 after the second.
 
PVAMU answered back in the next half inning with an RBI single from Tre Turner to cut the lead to two.
 
The Bobcats were able to load the bases in the fifth and Pena was able to induce a balk to make it a 4-1 game.
 
The freshman first baseman would hit a double down the right field line in the sixth to plate two. The next inning saw Gonzalez drive in a run and another come home after a throwing error by the Panthers' second baseman to increase the lead to seven runs.
 
PVAMU tallied a run in the ninth on an infield single on a pitch that was hit back up the middle and ricocheted off Kerbow's glove.
 
Next up for Texas State is the start of Sun Belt Conference play that will take the team to Jonesboro, Arkansas for the opening series. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. against Arkansas State on Friday.
 
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