SAN MARCOS, Texas – On a day that saw the game pushed back two hours from the initial start time and then deal with a 1:39 hour delay in the middle of the game, Texas State dropped the series finale 3-2 to App State on Sunday at Bobcat Ballpark.
The Bobcats are now 11-9 overall and 2-1 in the Sun Belt Conference while the Mountaineers improved to 12-6 on the year and 1-2 in league play.
"It was disappointing as I thought it was a game we definitely could have won. Anytime you only have four hits in a game, you're not going to win a lot of them," said head coach Steven Trout. "Credit to them as they made a big swing in a big moment. Lugo hit a ball that should have gone out but it was caught at the wall. There were also three double plays that we didn't turn that we should have."
Daylan Pena had two of TXST's four base hits on the day and drove in a run. Aaron Lugo had a hit and an RBI. Also finishing with a base knock was Davis Powell, who also scored once along with Chase Mora.
Suffering the loss on the mound was Jonathan Martinez (1-2) after he allowed two runs in 2.2 innings. Grey LaSpaluto (2-0) picked up the win as he tossed two innings of relief and surrendered a run while Zach Lewis threw a scoreless ninth to earn his second save.
Sam Hall started and went 4.1 innings with two strikeouts for the Bobcats. Both Matthew Tippie and Peyton Zabel tossed one scoreless frame with a punch out.
It would be a scoreless contest until the bottom of the fourth. Mora reached via a fielder's choice and would then steal second. Pena smacked a 2-0 pitch to right center that rolled to the wall, which allowed the junior to slide into third for his first triple of the season and give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead on his 100th career RBI.
App State answered back in the next half inning as it strung together three singles around a walk to tie the game.
The game would go into a weather delay with one out in the top of the sixth. Coming out of the break, Martinez induced a pop up and fly out to end the frame.
Powell started the bottom of the inning with an infield single and he moved into scoring position on Alec Patino's sacrifice bunt. The senior shortstop advanced to within 90 feet of scoring on a wild pitch. Following a free pass to Mora, Lugo hit flew out to right that scored Powell and made it a 2-1 Bobcat lead.
The Mountaineers took the lead in the seventh when Drew Holderbach hit a two-run home run just to the left of the batter's eye.
An attempted rally in the ninth saw Ramirez work a walk and Cade Manning get plunked. Ryne Farber hit a grounder in the hole that was fielded by the first baseman. He was able to flip to Lewis in time for the final out on a close play.
The homestand for the Bobcats comes to a close on Tuesday when they host I-35 rival UTSA with the first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m.
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