TXST BASEBALL
The Bobcats season came to an end this week, as Texas State was eliminated from the Sun Belt Conference tournament after taking a pair of losses to Southern Miss and Troy.
Texas State finishes the season with a 27-31 overall record, marking the first time the Bobcats will have back to back sub .500 seasons since the 1990s.
The Bobcats opened up the tournament in a first round elimination game against the App State Mountaineers.
Texas State stayed alive with a 3-0 victory over the Mountaineers and advanced to the next round.
The win was highlighted by the performance from starting pitcher Bryson Dudley who made just his second start of the season.
The junior from Round Rock threw a complete game shutout, allowing just two hits, no walks and striking out ten batters.
“I felt good,” Dudley said. “All I could think about was staying in the present moment and pounding the zone. … Defense is working behind me, and I did not want to go home.”
The Bobcats scored first in the top of the first inning. With runners on second and third, senior catcher Austin Munguia grounded out to the shortstop, allowing sophomore Ryne Farber to score from third base.
Later in the at-bat, junior Rashawn Galloway connected with an RBI single through the right side, scoring Mora at third and putting the Bobcats up 2-0.
Texas State added their final run of the game in the bottom of the seventh. With Mora at third, junior first baseman Coy DeFury hit an RBI single into right field, extending the lead to 3-0.
Dudley closed out the game in the top of the ninth inning by sitting the Mountaineers in order, including striking out his tenth batter to seal the win.
The Bobcats returned the following day to battle the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.
Southern Miss jumped all over Texas State, scoring seven unanswered runs in the first five innings to take a commanding lead.
The Bobcats could only muster one run on a Rashawn Galloway RBI single in the top of the sixth inning before the Golden Eagles scored two more runs to defeat Texas State 9-1.
The loss dropped Texas State into another elimination game where they faced the Troy Trojans who lost to Old Dominion.
Once again the Bobcats found themselves trailing after Troy scored two runs in the first three innings to take the lead.
However, Texas State started to make a comeback. In the top of the fifth inning, senior outfielder Alan Shibley hit a solo home run over the wall in right field to make it a one score game at 2-1. In the next inning, the Bobcats tied when junior Coy DeFury hit a solo home run of his own also over the right field wall, making it a 2-2 game.
Troy answered back in the bottom of the seventh inning, taking the lead back on a solo home run to go back up 3-2. The Trojans then added on another run following a wild pitch to extend their lead 4-2.
The Bobcats were unable to mount a comeback as Texas State fell in the elimination game.
cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
