ARLINGTON – The Texas State Bobcats used a 4-run seventh inning to regain the lead and held off the Sam Houston Bearkats on Wednesday night at Globe Life Field in the 2021 season opener for SHSU.
SHSU (0-1) had taken a 3-1 lead with a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth, but fell victim to its only error of the night as it led to four runs – two unearned - in the deciding seventh frame.
Steven Beard threw three scoreless innings before being tagged for all four runs in that frame. He entered in relief of starter
Matt Dillard who struck out one and allowed a run in 3.0 innings.
Relievers
Coltin Atkinson and
Alex Havlicek also made it to the bump for their Bearkat debuts with Atkinson closing out the seventh inning before Havlicek punched out two of the four batters he faced in the eighth.
The Kats picked up just six hits on the night with three going for extra bases.
Christian Smith finished 2-for-4 with a run scored, while
Clayton Chadwick had a triple and a pair of RBI.
Texas State (3-2), playing its fifth game of the young season, got five strikeouts from starter Cameron Bush before exiting in the fifth after surrendering three runs of his own. Reece Gould picked up the win in relief, while Trevis Sundgren earned the save with a perfect ninth.
The Bobcats took an early lead in the third on an RBI single by Justin Thompson, but the Kats answered right back as Chadwick scored
Jack Rogers with a 2-out RBI triple into the right-field gap.
Wes Folse got things going for the Kats an inning later, but it looked as though he would be stranded as Texas State got each of the next two hitters before
Colton Cowser reached on a walk. Bush then got
Blake Faecher to strike out, but an errant throw by the Bobcat catcher allowed him to reach and pushed Folse home to put SHSU in front 2-1.
The Kats would add another run on a second Texas State error, going up 3-1 and Beard responded with two straight zeros on the board. But the first two Bobcats of the seventh inning reached base and an SHSU error brought in a run to make it a 3-2 game.
Bryce Bonner then tied it up on a sacrifice fly, but Thompson delivered his third bases-loaded hit of the season with two outs, doubling down the third-base line to bring in two more runs and giving the Bobcats a 5-3 lead.
SHSU got a run back in the top of the eighth when Smith led off with a triple and came home on a Chadwick grounder, but Sundgren entered to open the ninth and retired all three hitters he faced to close it out.
The Kats will now return to Don Sanders Stadium for its home opener on Friday vs UTSA. Fans are encouraged to be aware that tickets are only available in advance and to be aware of all COVID-19 protocols.
