SAN MARCOS, Texas – Four home runs were hit by Texas State (8-5) in the eighth inning to propel the team to an 8-7 win over North Dakota State (1-12) Friday night in the series opener at Bobcat Ballpark. Overall, the Bobcats hit five long balls on the night that plated all of their runs.
"It's a big program win. I thought everyone showed up tonight. It didn't look great for a little while but the guys kept fighting. I felt like guys in the dugout didn't lose hope and found a way to win," said head coach
Steven Trout.
Making his season debut and earning his first collegiate win was
Dylan Kerbow (1-0) as he struck out two in a scoreless eighth inning.
Triston Dixon set the Bison down in order in the ninth to earn his third save of the season. Taking the loss was Joey Danielson (0-2) after giving up the final two runs of the contest.
Zeke Wood started on the rubber and struck out eight in four innings. However, he allowed five runs on four hits including two homers.
Cameron Bush tossed three innings in relief with three strikeouts.
Both
Jose Gonzalez and
Ryan Leary drove in three runs. Gonzalez' RBI came on a round tripper and Leary hit two home runs on the night. Also hitting a ball out of the park was
Daylan Pena and
August Ramirez.
Scoreless through the first three innings, NDSU struck first with five runs in the fourth that included two two-run homers.
With one out in the fifth,
Peyton Lewis singled to right center and would move up to second on a passed ball. Leary smashed a 1-2 offering to left center to cut the deficit to 5-2.
The Bison went back up by five in the next half inning with their third two-run long ball of the game.
Ben McClain led off the bottom of the eighth with a single back up the middle and
Davis Powell worked a free pass. Gonzalez connected on a 1-1 pitch and saw the ball fly over the right field wall for his sixth homer of the year. Pena followed with a solo shot to left and Ramirez made it three consecutive round trippers with an opposite field shot that tied the game. It was the second time this season that the trio of Gonzalez, Pena and Ramirez hit back-to-back-to-back homers.
After the next two batters were retired, Leary sent the first pitch he saw over the left center field fall for his second home run of the game and put TXST in front.
Dixon came on and induced two groundouts before wrapping up the victory with a strikeout.
Game two of the series takes place at 2:30 p.m. from Bobcat Ballpark.
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