SAN MARCOS, Texas – Junior
Davis Powell completed Texas State's (24-13, 9-6 Sun Belt) sweep of Marshall (14-19, 4-11 Sun Belt) with a walk-off single for the 5-4 win Sunday afternoon at Bobcat Ballpark.
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"You got to find a way to win. It is tough to sweep a team in this conference because they are all super talented and very competitive. As you saw today, Marshall had chances to win the game. Luckily, we found a way to get it done," said head coach
Steven Trout. "I'm really proud of the team with an early morning game, not being satisfied with two wins and getting after it. They did a really good job of finding a way to win."
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Triston Dixon (2-1) threw four innings, struck out two and allowed an unearned run on two hits to earn the win. Taking the loss was Ryan Capuano (1-2) as he surrendered a run on two hits and a walk in an inning of work.
Making the start on the mound was
Zeke Wood. The right-hander struck out three in four innings while giving up two runs on five hits.
Nathan Medrano worked an inning out of the bullpen that saw him record a strikeout.
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For the third time in the series, Powell went 2-for-4 at the plate while driving in two runs and scoring once. Also finishing with two RBI was
August Ramirez. Leadoff man
Kameron Weil reached base all five times he came up to bat and scored a career-high four times including the game-winning run.
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Weil started the first with a bunt single and moved up to second as the throw from the third baseman was wide of the mark. After moving to within 90 feet of scoring on a groundout, Powell singled to center to plate the left fielder and give Texas State an early 1-0 lead.
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The Thundering Herd took their first lead of the series with a two RBI double off the bat of Kyle Schaefer. That came after a misplayed groundball on a potential inning-ending double play allowed the visitors to load the bases. They would add another run in the fifth on a bases loaded free pass with two outs as the frame begin with a fielding error on a fly ball.
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In the bottom of the fifth, Weil started off by being plunked and
Ben McClain was walked on four pitches. Marshall's right fielder made a sliding catch in foul territory that allowed Weil to tag and move on to third. The very next pitch saw Mora send it to centerfield for an RBI single to cut the deficit to 3-2.
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A groundout with two gone in the seventh plated the Herd's fourth run of the game that was made possible by a dropped popup earlier in the frame.
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With runners on the corners and two gone in the next half inning, Ramirez sent a 1-0 offering to left field. The ball hit the turf right before the wall and died at the right there which allowed both runners to score to tie the game at 4-4 on his eighth double of the season.
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In the eighth, Amari Bartee broke for second on a steal attempt of second as Cam Harthan swung and hit a fly ball to center. McClain caught the ball and threw to first base. His throw was a little high but
Daylan Pena leapt to catch the ball and then dove back and tagged the bag with his glove to double up Bartee to end the inning.
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Weil started the ninth off with a single to center and McClain was then issued a free pass on four pitches. Following a meeting on the mound, Capuano attempted to picked Weil off but his throw was short and bounced into centerfield to allow both runners to move into scoring position. Powell smoked a 1-2 offering over the head of the left field for the walk-off base knock.
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The Bobcats begin a stretch of playing seven of their next eight games on the road on Tuesday with a trip down I-35 to take on rival UTSA.
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