SAN MARCOS, Texas – Junior
Levi Wells threw a complete game and set a new career-high with 13 strikeouts in Texas State's (22-13, 7-6 Sun Belt) 5-1 win over Marshall (14-19, 4-9 Sun Belt) Friday night at Bobcat Ballpark. He is the first Bobcat to punch out 13 in a game since Carson Smith did so on Apr. 29, 2011 against McNeese.
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The complete game was the second in the right-hander's career with the first coming just over a year ago at App State (Apr. 2, 2022). Wells surrendered a run on six hits while not walking a batter to improve to 6-1 on the season. His 13 strikeouts are tied for the most by a Sun Belt Conference hurler this season in a game that the Mountaineer's Xander Hamilton recorded at Louisiana back on Mar. 31.
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"That is a dominate performance. He was ahead of them all night long and had all his pitches going," said head coach
Steven Trout. "He kept competing, kept wanting the baseball and never wanted anyone to finish the game for him. With the complete game, we were able to rest
Triston Dixon and
Jack Stroud, who were used a lot on Tuesday."
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At the plate, both
Jose Gonzalez and
Davis Powell went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Gonzalez drove in two runs and hit his 10th home run of the season and 30th in his Bobcat career. Also plating a run apiece was
Ben McClain and Powell.
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TXST was limited to seven hits but was able to draw eight walks along with
Chase Mora being hit by a pitch once.
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In the first, Powell hit a pop up down the right field line that fell to the turf for a single. Gonzalez followed by smashing a 2-2 offering over the right center field wall that traveled 416 feet to give Texas State an early 2-0 lead. The senior outfielder is now tied with Jeff McVaney (2009-12) for third in program history for home runs.
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The score would remain the same until Kyle Schaefer hit a solo homer to left center that cut the Bobcats' advantage to a run in the top of the fourth.
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In the bottom of the frame,
Ryan Leary reached base and advanced to second as the Thundering Herd second baseman threw the ball away with two outs. After
Cade Manning was walked, McClain sent the first pitch he saw to right center for an RBI single. Powell followed with a single to center that also plated a run to increase the lead to 4-1.
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The final run of the game came in the sixth when TXST got the bases loaded on three free passes. A wild pitch would see
Peyton Lewis easily score from third.
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Game two of the series is scheduled for first pitch at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.
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