Texas State takes first game in series with Southern

Less than 48 hours removed from one of the biggest wins in program history, Texas State had to suit up again.

It wasn’t a game against a big-name opponent. It wasn’t in front of a record-breaking crowd. It wasn’t even televised.

But it was still a regular season baseball game, and it counted all the same. The maroon and gold mostly treated it as such, taking down Southern inside Bobcat Ballpark on Friday in the series opener, 6-2.

“It was a weird day,” head coach Steven Trout said. “It was a day I was a little worried about, to be honest with you, coming off the two emotional games (Tuesday and Wednesday).”

A cold front caused temperatures to drop to the mid-to-low 40s and winds gust above 20 mph. It seemed to have an effect on both teams as they committed three errors each during the game. 

Texas State took advantage early on. Senior right fielder John Wuthrich led off the bottom of the first inning by singling to the pitcher. Junior left fielder Jose Gonzalez sent a fly ball to centerfield in the next at-bat, which was dropped by the outfielder, putting a pair of runners on. Senior shortstop Dalton Shuffield grounded out in the next plate appearance, advancing the two up a base. 

Senior designated hitter Wesley Faison sent another fly ball to centerfield, which was dropped again. Wuthrich and Gonzalez both raced home for two unearned runs, with Faison receiving credit for a sacrifice fly.

Faison added an RBI double in the bottom of the third to extend the lead to 3-0. The Jaguars put two runs on the board in the top of the fifth, but Faison counted with an RBI single in the bottom frame to keep the Bobcats in front, 4-2.

The hosts slowed down a bit from there, registering just one hit the rest of the game.

“We put some good swings on balls, a lot of them got held up in the wind. So that was kind of tough,” Faison said. “I feel like we could’ve scored a lot more runs but our approach got a little out of sync in the middle innings. We’ve been facing a lot of really good arms.”

Texas State picked up a pair of insurance runs in the eighth. Shuffield reached on an error to lead off and Faison was walked in the next at-bat. Senior third baseman Justin Thompson and freshman first baseman Daylan Pena followed it up with a pair of groundouts, scoring Shuffield and pushing Faison to third. Faison walked the final 90 feet after a balk, clinching the 6-2 victory for the maroon and gold.

Junior starting pitcher Zeke Wood (2-1) received the win, allowing two walks, five hits and zero earned runs while striking out seven in 6.0 innings of work.

The Bobcats (12-3) continues the series on Saturday, playing Southern (3-11) again at 2:30 p.m.. The teams will close out the Sunday at 1 p.m.

Trout said he hopes his team gets its edge back as the weekend progresses.

“I hate to say it but I think the weather will help a little bit,” Trout said. “I think understanding that when you make three errors and you’re not locked in, anybody can beat you. So we gotta come out, tomorrow will be new day and just get back out and get after it. We’ve just got to get back to doing what we do and if we do that, we’ll be fine.”