Texas State entered their weekend series on a lowpoint with a five-game losing streak, leaving both the team and the fans searching for something more desirable ahead of their three-series against the No. 25 ranked Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. Turns out the only things leaving the Bobcat Ballpark after this weekend were Bobcat home runs and the Cajuns adding a few more Ls to their name.
Texas State tied a program record eight home runs hit in a single game as the Bobcats defeated the Cajuns 16-6 to complete the three-game sweep.
I feel like it starts with just one guy and then it gets contagious,” sophomore Ethan Farris said after the game. “We're just trying to get the next guy up, and we know that the guy behind us can do so much damage. So it's really fun right now. This offense is just I think it's just buzzing. Everyone's buzzing right now.”
With the sweep, the Bobcats improve to 15-8 overall and 3-3 in conference play while the Cajuns fall to 16-8 overall and 2-4 in conference play.
“Obviously a big weekend and a big response,” Head Coach Steven Trout said. “That's what we talked about was a response from last week. I even told him on Tuesday. I thought we played really well, we just didn't win. But I saw things that were better than the three games over the weekend. We were trending in the right direction as I told him, even at Monroe we're not going to let 5 games or 3 games define us. It was just a bad weekend that happened sometimes and you have to learn from it, come out and play like that.”
The Bobcats struck first in the bottom of the second when sophomore Ethan Farris hit a solo home run in left field, giving Texas State a 1-0 lead.
In the same at-bat, freshman Jackson Cotton crushed a two-run home run that went over the wall in center field clocked at 474 ft, extending the lead at 3-0.
Farris struck again for the Bobcats, hitting a three-run home run in the bottom of the third.
Following Farris, freshman Clayton Namken hit a solo home run to make it a 7-0 game. Completing the trifecta, senior Chase Mora hit yet another home run as the Bobcats hit three consecutive home runs in a row to lead the Cajuns 8-0.
“When the wind's blowing out like this, a lot of times we try to just launch baseball,” Farris said. “It's not launching and hitting pop flies. We are still trying to do damage with the launch, but launching baseball and getting stuff elevated is really what we're after when the wind's blowing out like that.”
The Cajuns tacked on a run in the top of the fourth on a fielder’s choice but nothing more in the at-bat as the deficit was cut down to 8-1.
The Bobcats continued their offensive tear in the following at-bat when junior Manny Salas hit an RBI double before sophomore Dawson Park hit a two-run home run, making it a 11-1 game.
The Cajuns added a run in the top of the fifth inning on an RBI single before another RBI single cut their deficit down to 11-3
But the Bobcat offense didn’t back down.
Salas connected with his first home run of the game, blasting a three-run shot to further extend the lead.
Park then hit his second home run of the game that not only pushed the lead but helped tie a program record of most home runs hit in a single game at eight.
The Cajuns later scored in the top of the sixth, scoring on an RBI single then a two-run home run, making it a 15-6 game.
Sophomore Brady Boles tacked on another run for the Bobcats with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth, as Texas State pushed the Cajuns to the run-rule limit.
Freshman closer Alex Yearwood finished the game, striking out four batters in one inning to complete the win.
Senior starter Jesus Tovar finished the game, throwing five innings while allowing just five hits, three earned runs, one walk and striking out three batters to earn his fifth win of the season.
Texas State returns home Tuesday when the Bobcats host the UTRGV Vaqueros.
First pitch is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Bobcat Ballpark.
