SAN MARCOS, Texas – A base knock back up the middle by
Ben McClain gave Texas State (18-8, 4-3 Sun Belt) an 8-7 victory in the 10th inning over Arkansas State (8-15, 0-5 Sun Belt) Friday night at Bobcat Ballpark. The win was the 100th for head coach
Steven Trout leading the program as he became fastest in program history to reach triple-digit victories, needing 162 games to do so.
Jack Stroud (2-1) retired the final two batters with one via a strikeout to earn the win. Suffering the loss was Aaron Evers (0-2) after giving up two runs on three hits while recording just one out.
Starting on the rubber for the Bobcats was
Levi Wells. The right-hander struck out six but surrendered five runs on four hits and walks.
Triston Dixon went 3.1 innings with two strikeouts while
Nathan Medrano (1.2 IP) and
Rhett McCaffety (0.1 IP) combined to throw two scoreless frames.
McClain went 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBI, two runs scored and drew two free passes. Finishing with two hits was
Jose Gonzalez with one being a three-run home run. Also driving in a run was
Chase Mora and
Kameron Weil.
The Red Wolves jumped out to a three-run advantage their first time at the plate behind a two-run homer from Blake Burris and a solo shot off the bat of Kody Darcy.
In the bottom of the first, McClain led off by drawing a walk and
Davis Powell followed with a single to centerfield. A 2-2 offering to Gonzalez was smashed over the right field wall to tie the game. It was the 29th in the senior's career and the 50th this season by a TXST hitter.
The Bobcats would tack on a fourth run in the first when Mora reached on a fielder's choice that brought
Daylan Pena home thanks to a throwing error by the ASU third baseman.
Another two-run round tripper, this time from Brandon Hager, put the Red Wolves back in front 5-4 in the third.
McClain drove in his first run of the game in the fourth. He hit a 0-1 pitch back up the middle that scored
Cade Manning from second to tie the game.
The score would remain knotted until the eighth. After a leadoff double by Cross Jumper, a fielding error allow the visitors to get runners on the corners. Wil French singled to right that gave ASU a 6-5 advantage.
With one out in the ninth, McClain fell behind 0-2 but was able to work a free pass. He would move up another 90 feet when Gonzalez was walked. Pena loaded the bases after he was hit by a pitch. A 1-2 pitch to Ramirez got by the catcher just enough for McClain to score as he slid in under a tag to tie the game.
The Red Wolves would retake the lead in the next half inning on a successful suicide squeeze attempt by Burris.
Mora leadoff the bottom of the 10th with a double to right field that saw the ball glace off the glove of the leaping outfielder. The freshman moved to within 90 feet of scoring when
Peyton Lewis hit a grounder to the first baseman. After
Ryan Leary was walked, Weil hit a 2-1 offering to left center that tied the game.
With the infield drawn in, McClain sent a 2-1 pitch back up the middle for the walk-off base knock.
Game two of the series takes place on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. with it also being Bark in the Park Day at Bobcat Ballpark.
For all things Texas State baseball, be sure to follow the team on
Facebook,
Instagram and
Twitter.
