Bobcats drop series against Oral Roberts in 8-4 loss as bats cool

Texas State was unable to overcome a five-run seventh inning as the Bobcats fell to the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles 8-4 dropping the three game series 1-2.

Although the loss may be a concern to some, head coach Steven Trout wasn’t worried about the setback.

“I thought it was a very competitive weekend,” Trout said. “They (Oral Roberts) are a really good bunch and a regional team. You want to get tested early to see where the team is at. Like I told the guys, this is a new team with new roles. There is a lot that goes into it. We’ve played six games and are 4-2. We are completely fine and need to learn to get better.”

It has been a wave of emotions for the Bobcats after a historic start to the season against Northwestern only to fall back to earth against Oral Roberts.

However, Trout wants his team to not be caught in the ups and downs of the moment considering how the sport fluctuates.

“We have to stay neutral,” Trout said. “You can’t ride the roller coaster that is baseball. It’s a crazy sport. To their (Oral Roberts) credit, they used the middle field--which I don’t know how many balls they got in. They just put it in the right place at the right time and we hit balls hard that they caught. Sometimes that’s just baseball.”

After scoring 56 runs last weekend, the bats were considerably cooled as Texas State put across 17 runs against Oral Roberts.

Though the decreased amount in run totals was expected, Trout wants the offense to focus on being stable.

“We just have to go out there and be consistent,” Trout said. “That’s the word we have to use with our hitters. It’s about taking a consistent approach and when guys can pitch, then can exploit things you may not have noticed. That’s where we have to go back to work and figure out how to fix those holes.”

Sunday’s game also saw the Bobcats score their first runs that were not home runs since the sixth inning of Sunday’s day against Northwestern.

As the Bobcats have found an advantage of using the home run, Trout notes that not every game will be similar to how the first weekend went.

“You always have to find ways to mix it up and score runs,” Trout said. “That’s the name of the game. Each day is going to be something different and each field is going to vary so you want to put pressure on them. I love to run the bases and steal bags but it has to be the right timing and the right personnel to do it. There is nothing wrong with our effort but rather just get back to playing better baseball … you are going to deal with adversity so the goal is to be better than week before.”

Trout also tried to calm the team down after the disappointing loss, noting the Bobcats are still early in their campaign to return to the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s only week two but everyone thinks it is week 14 and the season is over,” Trout said. “Our program has expectations. When you go through the season we had last year, you develop said expectations. It’s rightfully earned but we have a brand new team, new players, and guys in different roles. We are trying to figure it out and make it all work out on our point as well so we’ll get there and continue to grind and coach, while finding ways to be better.”

Texas State returns to Bobcat Ballpark Wednesday as they square off with rival Sam Houston State.

cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc