Disch it back: Bobcats take down No. 1 Longhorns on the road

AUSTIN — Texas State could’ve let the top team in the country remain on its perch. Instead, the Bobcats came for the throne.

A night after suffering an arduous 9-8 loss inside Bobcat Ballpark in front of a program-record crowd of 3,283, the maroon and gold stormed into UFCU Disch-Falk Field and walked out with a 6-4 victory over No. 1 Texas on Wednesday.

It’s the third time in program history Texas State’s taken down the No. 1-ranked team in the nation. It’s also the first time the team’s done it on the road since they defeated No. 1 Texas at the Disch on April 27, 2005.

“Beating a team like Texas who’s No. 1 in the country and is just such a talented group — and on the road — I think that speaks volumes,” Texas State head coach Steven Trout said. “And especially after last night, right? We could’ve came down and just laid an egg and not been mentally tough. But they just kept fighting and kept fighting and we got it done.”

Photo courtesy of Texas State Athletics

Senior right fielder John Wuthrich worried it might be difficult to get up for Wednesday night’s game after the Bobcats slogged through Tuesday’s emotional matchup. The team was on the cusp of taking one of the biggest wins in program history, and to come up a run short was gut-wrenching.

“Whenever I woke up, I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know how you can match last night,’” Wuthrich said. “Even though we fought as hard as we could, it felt like we left it all out there. But in baseball, you gotta get up and play the next day. So (I was) kind of having to dig deep and find that energy for today. But honestly, whenever the first pitch was thrown, this crowd and this atmosphere provided that energy for us.”

The crowd more than doubled in size on Wednesday, as did the tension — 7,469 spectators filled Disch-Falk Field, donning both burnt orange and maroon and gold. It was the Longhorns’ largest midweek crowd since Texas A&M visited Austin on April 2, 2019.

The Longhorns (12-2) clicked early on, putting up two runs in the first inning and forcing Trout to pull redshirt sophomore starting pitcher Peyton Zabel off the mound after facing just five batters. Redshirt junior right-hander Matthew Nicholas got the Bobcats out of the inning, but surrendered another run in the bottom of the second, the hosts holding a 3-0 advantage.

Texas State (11-3) settled in during the next frame. Junior catcher Peyton Lewis connected on a single to right field for the Bobcats’ first hit of the night. Senior centerfielder Isaiah Ortega-Jones drew a walk in the next plate appearance. Texas chose to swap pitchers, but senior right fielder John Wuthrich swung at the first pitch he saw and cleared the bases with a home run to left field that landed in the visitors’ bullpen.

It was the third-straight game that the Midland native sent a ball over the outfield fence.

“I kind of feel really locked in right now. My hands feel good and in the box, whenever you have confidence, it seems like everything goes your way,” Wuthrich said. “So your try to ride the highs as hard as you can, as long as you can and minimize the lows. That’s what good players do, so that’s what I’m really focused on right now, is just letting it ride and seeing how long it’ll go.”

TOUCH 'EM ALL!!! @JohnWuthrich ties the game with a 3-run 💣!#EatEmUp pic.twitter.com/E09KAbjOmF

— Texas State Baseball (@TxStateBaseball) March 10, 2022

Junior left fielder Jose Gonzalez kept the momentum going, hammering a double to right center. Senior shortstop Dalton Shuffield followed it up with a single and a wild pitch allowed both runners to advance a base, scoring Gonzalez. Senior designated hitter Wesley Faison drew a walk, and a pair of passed balls allowed Shuffield to cross the plate, giving Texas State a 5-3 lead.

Ortega-Jones sent a solo homer to left field in the top of the fourth to extend the lead to three, but the team wouldn’t score again for the rest of the game. The Longhorns got a run back in the bottom of the fifth and it was on the Bobcat bullpen to handle the rest.

Trout had to dig deeper into the roster than usual to finish the game after calling up four different arms on Tuesday. He’d already planned to use sophomore right-hander and Saturday starter Levi Wells for an inning in Wednesday’s game. Fellow sophomore RHP and Sunday starter Tony Robie asked to do the same.

“We just knew it was going to be a big bullpen day and we threw a lot of different guys,” Trout said. “And I’m just really proud of how those guys stepped up to the moment and got it done.”

Robie took to the mound in the seventh and Wells in the eighth, both players keeping the bases clean for the visitors and setting up senior RHP Tristan Stivors to close out the ninth.

Stivors surrendered a single to the hosts, struck out the next two players he saw, then beaned the next batter. It brought up Texas redshirt junior first baseman Ivan Melendez, who was already 3-4 at the plate on the night.

Stivors knew he couldn’t allow Melendez to touch the ball with the game-tying run on base. He fell behind 2-0 in the count but worked his best pitch, his slider, to get back into it. With a full 3-2 count, Stivors delivered his final pitch of the night. Melendez was caught looking and rung up for a strikeout, sealing Texas State’s historic win, 6-4.

“Obviously, I was a little nervous. Anybody would be going into that situation. But after I threw that first warmup pitch, I kind of settled down and I knew that if I just trusted myself, I would win this game for us,” Stivors said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, it doesn’t come often. I’m going to cherish this moment every second of the day. I’m probably never going to forget it in my life.”

LIGHT THE VICTORY STAR!!! DOWN GOES #1!!!!!!#EatEmUp pic.twitter.com/v5H2peWfnB

— Texas State Baseball (@TxStateBaseball) March 10, 2022

Sophomore right-hander Otto Wofford (1-0) earned his first win of the season after retiring the side in the fifth inning. Stivors was credited with his third save of the year and 13th of his career. Wuthrich hit 3-5 with three RBIs.

The maroon and gold, now a top-10 team in the NCAA’s Rankings Power Index, will take a day off to prepare for its series with Southern (3-10) this weekend inside Bobcat Stadium, with the first game beginning Friday at 3 p.m.

Trout doesn’t want his players to get too far ahead of themselves, even as the team is slowly establishing itself as a potential College World Series contender. Baseball can be a humbling sport — last season proved that for Texas State.

But baseball can also be an aggrandizing sport. Wednesday night proved that for Texas State, too.

“People need to be aware of the Bobcats, we’re a really good team this year,” Wuthrich said. “And mainly for us, we don’t really care about outside noise, rankings, whatever. This is about us and gaining that confidence and rolling with that.”

Texas State's game against Southern on Friday was originally scheduled for 6 p.m. This story has been updated to reflect the change in game time.