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The second inning was suffocating.
Texas State rode into the Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship in Conway, South Carolina at full sail as the No. 1 seed of the tournament, winning the league’s regular season title less than a week ago. They were slated to play against No. 10 Louisiana-Monroe on Wednesday, the lowest seed remaining in the tourney.
But after a scoreless first inning, the Bobcats had the wind knocked out of them. The Warhawks scored six runs in the top of the second.
The maroon and gold never quite looked the same after that. The team was shut out by ULM, 8-0, then fell to No. 5-seeded Coastal Carolina in an elimination game Thursday, 13-4, to be knocked out of the championship altogether.
The second inning against the Warhawks was uncharacteristic for Texas State. None of ULM’s batters hit for extra bases in the frame. Two of the scores came from stealing home on a wild pitch.
The issue for the Bobcats was that they could never muster an answer. The team didn’t swing for another base hit until the sixth inning — a single to center field from redshirt senior Jaylen Hubbard. Redshirt junior designated hitter Will Hollis hit into a double play in the next at bat, ending the inning.
Texas State’s problems continued against the Chanticleers, beginning again in the second inning. Coastal Carolina senior first baseman Zach Biermann led off the bottom of the frame with a solo home run to right field. The No. 5 seed put two more runners on base and junior outfielder Morgan Hyde brought them home with another homer, this time to left field for three scores. The Bobcats went down in order in the top of the third.
The team did show signs of life in the fourth and fifth innings. Junior second baseman Jaxon Williams, sophomore right fielder John Wuthrich and sophomore shortstop Dalton Shuffield loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth. Coastal Carolina walked redshirt senior left fielder Travon Benton and senior first baseman Ryan Newman in the next two at-bats to give away to free runs before getting the final out to retire the side.
Hubbard and Williams each singled to start the fifth and Hubbard advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt. Hollis grounded into another double play, but allowed Hubbard to cross home plate, cutting the deficit to 4-3.
The Chanticleers responded with three runs in the bottom of the frame, then pulled away with another six in the seventh and eighth. Texas State only scored one more run the rest of the game, falling 13-4 and shutting the window on their tournament title chances.
The Bobcats batted 7-60 in the two games combined and left 15 on base. Thursday’s game was the first time they allowed 13 runs in a game since April 18 in a 16-14 home win against Arkansas State.
The team finishes the season at 36-20 overall and will have to hope to receive an at-large bid to advance to the NCAA tournament. The NCAA Selection Show takes place Monday at 11 a.m.
