Texas State blows out Northwestern in sweep

It was a historic weekend for Texas State as the Bobcats hit a program record eight homeruns in a single game to beat Northwestern 24-9 to sweep the three game series.

The accomplishment was one even sophomore infielder Daylan Pena couldn’t believe.

“That was insane,” Pena said. “It is a special group of guys as you can see. The power is insane when you go through the order one through nine that it can come anytime. We are going to continue to swing it and let everything else happen.”

The weekend saw the Bobcats score an eye-popping 56 runs over the past three games which set a new program record.

“We are just coming out and having fun,” Pena said. “We are sticking with our approach and coach put together a great game plan for us. We came out, executed it, and had fun.”

After defeating Northwestern on Saturday 20-5, head coach Steven Trout wanted to test his team to be the ones to throw the first punch in the first inning.

Needless to say, Texas State passed with flying colors.

“It is hard to do three games in a row,” Trout said. “Offensively, I challenged them today to come out and have great at bats. They came in and had great approaches from the very start to the very end. Medrano also got us off to a good start filling up the strikeout zone.”

“They have been doing a good job of attacking the ball in the middle of the field,” Trout said. “They are not out there trying to hit home runs but rather they are just taking really good swings in the middle of the field, getting the barrel of the bat to the ball, and having great timing. We have to continue that approach throughout the season.”

“Part of it is that some of the guys that didn’t start are coming in and getting some great hits,” Trout said. “We have some competitive guys along with great depth … when they get their moment, they want more atbats so it makes everyone else want to compete and rise to the occasion.”

One of those players that’s been making a mark in the opening series has been freshmen Chase Mora.

In Mora’s first three atbats, the Tomball product has hit three home runs including a grand slam to set the program mark for most home runs in a game during the 8th inning.

Though Trout was stunned with Mora’s performance, the head coach knew the capabilities of what the young freshman sensation could do.

“We’ve always known he was a stud,” Trout said. “Originally was a pitcher so he wasn’t even allowed to hit. Right now he is recovering from Tommy John surgery so he won’t be able to throw the ball this year. But he is a gamer and a really good player. He just seems to be the MVP of every tournament he plays…I’ve never seen that before so it’s just really awesome because you can see home runs at your first at-bat but not all three.”

The key to Mora’s unbelievable start has been the freshman’s ability to stick with his routine on a consistent basis.

“It’s really about staying with my approach,” Mora said. “That is being where my feet are. It’s something Coach Blakeney told us Friday is staying in the present moment and not worrying about yesterday. After Saturday’s game, at midnight I just flushed everything that happened and came out today to just do my thing today.”

Being the one to break the home run record for the Bobcats is a memory Mora will cherish forever.

“It was an unbelievable moment,” Mora said. “I knew going in that they were talking about it in the dugout but trying to keep it quiet and everything. When I connected and saw it go out, I knew it was going to be a moment I was never going to forget.”

Mora’s performance has also garner the attention from the rest of the teammate as well.

“The kid (Mora) is unreal,” Pena said. “You will probably never see that in a few years. He is pretty special as you can see. We have a lot of baseball to play and hopefully he’s going to be there and continue the momentum.”

Texas State returns to play this weekend for a three game series against the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles

cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc