Published: May 21, 2008 07:16 pm            

Bobcats hammer Mavs in first round

HUNTSVILLE – It didn't matter what the Texas State baseball team was eating for breakfast. The Bobcats shoveled in the food during the morning and then devoured UT-Arlington's pitching. Texas State set three Southland Conference tournament team hitting records in its 22-2 throttling of the Mavs.

"Their focus today at breakfast was nothing else but that," Bobcat head coach Ty Harrington said. "They weren't worried about what they were eating. They were focused the moment they stepped on the surface when we got here."

The early start time didn't bother Texas State as it jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the first inning. After Paul Goldschmidt ripped an RBI single to score Thomas Field, the rout was on. The Bobcats collected four hits in the inning, including a two-run single from Ben Theriot.

Mike Hart turned in another solid start on the mound, escaping trouble in the first and third – the Mavs had the bases loaded in the latter. Hart was given a 7-0 lead going into the fourth and already racked up three strikeouts.

"It's nice," Hart said of the run support. "We're coming in hot. Everyone's swinging the bat, so I kind of figured we were going to score a bunch of runs."

Texas State was up 12-0 going into the top of the sixth and a run-rule looked certain. UTA managed to get two runs off Hart on four hits, including two-consecutive singles. Hart escaped trouble and the Bobcat machine kept rolling.

Elliott Babcock led off with a single and Spenser Dennis followed with his second double of the game. Theriot then ripped a single up the middle to extend the lead back to 10.

"It felt really good out there," Theriot said. "It helps when guys in front of you are getting hits to get that momentum going and things just start happening."

Texas State continued to pound away in the sixth, as Goldschmidt stroked a three-run double to deep-center. Lance Loftin and Adam Witek recorded two quick outs and Babcock stepped to the plate again. Babcock doubled and Dennis singled to bring up Theriot again.

Needing two RBI to tie the SLC tournament record for RBIs in a single game, Theriot connected on a fastball. The ball hurtled toward the 375-foot sign in right-center field and disappeared over the fence. Theriot rounded the bases on his fourth home run of the season.

"You keep on swinging," Theriot said. "I did not know it was gone. I don't hit too many home runs."

When the sixth inning ended, Texas State held a 20-run lead and a plethora of SLC tournament marks for a team. The Bobcats set records for: runs in an inning (10), hits (24) and runs in a game. The Mavs didn't have a chance as Texas State made sure to start the tournament with a bang.

"That's embarrassing on our part," UTA head coach Darin Thomas said. "We obviously didn't pitch well. We were never in the game and we didn't do anything right. At no point did we slow them down offensively."

        

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