Bobcats toss 18 strikeouts, fall to Eagles in extra innings, 7-4

Georgia Southern added three runs in the top of the 11th inning to knock off Texas State in a 7-4 loss for the Bobcats.

Head baseball coach Steven Trout said too many defensive errors doomed the Bobcats and that Texas State needed to regroup Saturday in order to win out.

“What a crazy baseball game,” Trout said. “Started off as a low-scoring game, then a lot of craziness in extra innings. We had multiple chances to win the game but at the end of the day, we didn’t play good enough defense and gave up too many free 90s. They are a great team there and when you play a great team, you can’t give up too many free 90s. But we have to flush it and get ready for tomorrow.”

Facing two outs with a runner on base, third baseman Justin Thompson hit a two-out RBI single toward left field to score Dustin Shuffield as Texas State took its first lead of the game at 1-0. 

After a scoreless second and third inning, the Bobcats scored again as Jose Gonzales hit a one-out solo home run, his first of the season, to add to the lead at 2-0. Peyton Lewis then added another run as he hit a one-out RBI single to score Daylan Pena for the Bobcats to go up 3-0.

Georgia Southern was able to get on the board after Texas State loaded the bases and walked in the runner to add one run for the Eagles to cut the deficit down to 3-1. Despite having two outs, the bases were still loaded before Texas State pulled starting pitcher Zeke Wood for Triston Dixon. Wood finished the game throwing 4.2 innings while allowing two hits, one run and throwing 12 strikeouts.

Dixon was able to get the Bobcats out of the jam as the batter popped out toward left field to end the inning. After holding Texas State off the scoreboard, Georgia Southern tacked on another run as shortstop Austin Thompson hit a leadoff home run to make it 3-2 for the Eagles in the top of the sixth inning. 

In the top of the seventh inning, Georgia Southern put a runner in scoring position with a two-out double as Texas State brought in Matthew Nicholas for relief. Nicholas was able to groundout the batter to the shortstop as Texas State got out of the inning with their 3-2 lead intact. 

With nothing going for the Bobcats in the bottom of the seventh inning, Texas State turned to Tristan Stivors to take over in the top of the eighth inning. Stivors proceeded to go 1-2-3 as Texas State headed into the bottom of the eighth to add insurance runs to their lead. But Texas State couldn’t bring home any runs, going 1-2-3 as the Bobcats now looked to win the game with a 3-2 lead. 

Georgia Southern then tied the game up as Christian Avant hit a one-out solo home-run to tie the game up at 3-3. The Eagles almost took the lead with another home run but the ball popped up at the warning track before being caught by Ben McClain. 

Isaiah Ortega-Jones drew the leadoff walk for the Bobcats before Pena flew out to centerfield to give Georgia Southern one out. Lewis drew the walk for the Bobcats to put runners on second and first with one out as Gibbons came to the plate. However, Texas State hit into the double play as both teams headed into extra innings. 

Georgia Southern took advantage of the inning as a leadoff walk led to the baserunner stealing second base with no outs. After moving the runner to third following the groundout, Georgia Southern took the lead as the sacrifice bunt scored the run for the Eagles to take a 4-3 lead. 

Texas State finally ended the inning with a groundout to Shuffield at shortstop. Wesley Faison led the inning with a leadoff single as Texas State put the tying run on first base. McClain then bunted to move the runner to second base but a miscommunication between the Georgia Southern players allowed McClain to be safe at first. Shuffield then bunted to move the runners but also outran the throw to first to load the bases with no outs. 

The Bobcats could only bring one run across the plate to tie the game as both teams moved into the 11th inning. 

Following a missed diving catch by the Bobcats, Georgia Southern moved a runner to third base after a sac bunt. The Eagles then took the lead following a dropped strike that got past the catcher at 5-4. With two outs and a runner on third, the Eagles added another run as the ball went off of the Stivors’ glove to allow another run to come across for Georgia Southern, who extended the lead to 6-4.  

Otto Wofford came in for Stivors with two outs before Georgia Southern added another run with a two-out RBI single to extend the lead to 7-4. However, the Bobcats got out of the inning as Texas State threw out the runner trying to advance to second base. 

Despite having runners on first and second base, Texas State could not complete the comeback, falling to Georgia Southern, 7-4.

Offensively, Lewis and Pena led the team in hits with two apiece while Justin Thompson led the team in RBIs, bringing in two runs. The team’s pitchers combined to throw 18 strikeouts — one shy of tying the program record.

Texas State returned on Saturday to continue the series against Georgia Southern, the game ending after press time. The teams will finish the series on Sunday at noon.