Texas State defeats UTRGV, off to best start since 1991

The last time Texas State Baseball began a season with an 8-1 record, no one on the roster had been born yet.

The maroon and gold defeated UT-Rio Grande Valley on Tuesday inside Bobcat Ballpark, 7-3, earning their sixth-straight win. The team improved to 8-1, matching the program’s best start since 1991.

The win comes two days after Texas State swept Ohio State over the weekend — the team’s first sweep since March 2020.

“It’s a super-talented team,” head coach Steven Trout said. “And I think that, you know, we’ve always had the talent. It’s just about guys coming out and executing. And our guys are in a good space right now, they expect to win. I think that’s important guys, they have a lot of confidence going right now. Even if everything’s not perfectly going for us, they’re playing with a lot of confidence, they’re getting after it. So hopefully that continues on. It’s a long season but you just gotta take it day-by-day.”

Nineteen Bobcats played in Tuesday’s game, including seven different pitchers. Senior right-hander Trevis Sundgren took the start on short rest and Trout kept him on a low pitch count, going to the bullpen after 3.2 innings.

The hosts built up an early 4-0 lead, taking advantage of a few fielding errors by the Vaqueros (5-3) through the first three innings. The visitors nearly came back, though, answering with two runs in the fourth, when Sundgren began to tire, and one in the fifth.

Neither team scored in the sixth and UTRGV was held scoreless again in the top of the seventh. Senior outfielder John Wuthrich led off with a single to left centerfield. Two at-bats later, senior shortstop Dalton Shuffield homered to left center to extend the lead to three. Seniors Wesley Faison and Justin Thompson each swung for singles in the next two plate appearances, putting runners on the corner, and junior catcher Peyton Lewis drove Faison home with a sacrifice fly to make it 7-3.

Texas State closed the game out to secure its best start in 31 years. Redshirt sophomore Cameron Bush (1-1) received the win, allowing one hit and striking out two in the sixth inning.

The 1991 team went on to post an 11-1 record to start its season. To match that, the current iteration of the Bobcats would need a sweep this weekend as they travel to take on No. 11 Arizona (8-1) in a three-game series beginning Friday at 7 p.m.