Texas State baseball will fight to stay alive Sunday in a rematch against USC after a humiliating 17-2 defeat to Texas A&M.
The Bobcats took an early 2-0 lead Saturday after two innings. The Aggies proceeded to score 17 unanswered runs to make the College Station Regional finals, as the pitching staff completely melted down by the seventh frame.
Texas State staved off USC in its opening game, winning 5-4 thanks to infielder Chase Mora’s ninth-inning go-ahead home run. The Trojans responded with a 19-6 demolition of the Lamar Cardinals and should be eager to throw that momentum back at the Bobcats.
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MORE: Chase Mora gave his all to Texas State baseball. He leaves as a Bobcats legend
Texas State has shown an exceptional ability over the past month to weather its opponent’s biggest punches and scrap out late-game wins. USC, still ranked 11th in RPI, holds perhaps the deepest pitching staff in the region. The Bobcat bats will need to be at their peak to counter the Trojans’ bullpen, as they are quickly running out of arms of their own. Texas State will also have to do without Rashawn Galloway, who is out of the lineup as he deals with an injury.
The winner will need to defeat the Aggies at 8 p.m. and on Monday to make the super regionals. Here are live updates from Texas State’s matchup with USC.
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Texas State baseball gathers to celebrate Friday’s 5-4 win over USC.
Robert Dempsey/Texas State University
Right-hander Sam Hall gets the ball to start the eighth. He retires Augie Lopez on strikes for the first out. Hall gets Takeuchi to strike out swinging. Cadena records his third hit of the game. Basseer hits a ball hard toward Boles, who’s unable to field it on the run. Maddox Riske bounces a single up the middle to extend the lead to eight. Hall walks Carpentier to load the bases.
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Urbon finds a gap in right field for a bases-clearing double. A strikeout ends USC’s run.
Vossos hits a leadoff single into center. Blake Beheler pinch-hits for Fryman. He flies out to left. Mora flies out to right. DeFury grounds out to first, ending the seventh.
Basseer draws a four-pitch walk. After two balls, the Bobcats bring right-hander Keller Eberly to the mound. Eberly gets the runner at second on a fielder’s choice bunt. Hayden Woodson pinch-runs for Lamb. He steals second base. Carpentier singles up the middle, putting runners on the corners. Urbon lays down the sacrifice bunt to make it 10-4. Covarrubias barrels a hanging slider for an RBI double. Adrien Lopez flies out to right.
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Cotton strikes out on three pitches. Salas flies out to center. Namken records a two-out double into left. Stewart flies out to right.
Gutierrez hands out a walk. Augie Lopez grounds out to short. Cotton makes a nice snag over his shoulder for the second out. A pitch gets stuck on Namken’s chest protector. Umpires rule it a lodged ball, scoring a run. Namken allows a passed ball on strike three, and Cadena takes first. He’s caught stealing for the third out.
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Mora grounds out to lead off the bottom of the inning. DeFury grounds out. Boles is retired on three straight strikes.
Left-hander Alizaeh Gutierrez relieves Kerbow. He retires the side for Texas State’s quietest inning yet.
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Fryman goes down swinging. Mora lines a double off the left field wall. DeFury sends a ball into the right field bleachers to give Texas State its first runs of the day. Right-hander Gavin Lauridsen comes in as relief. Boles goes up the middle for a single. Cotton draws a walk. Salas singles to right, cutting the lead to 8-3. Namken draws a walk to load the bases. Left-hander Sax Matson enters the game. Stewart strikes out looking.
Vossos walks to score another run. Fryman goes down looking.
Right-hander Alec Beversdorf takes the mound for the fourth. Urbon hits a single into center. Covarrubias lays down a sacrifice bunt, and Mora gets him at first with a bare-handed grab and throw. A groundout advances Urbon to third. Augie Lopez rips a single back up the middle for an RBI. Beversdorf walks Takeuchi. Cadena takes a pitch to his lead leg to load the bases. Beversdorf walks in a run. Right-hander Dylan Kerbow relieves him. He strikes out Lamb to leave the bases loaded.
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Salas is hit by a pitch, taking first. Namken lines a ball right to the shortstop, who makes a leaping grab. Stewart goes down on strikes. Vossos pops out to shallow center.
Takeuchi leads off the third with a single. Cadena rips a two-run home run into right field to extend USC’s lead. Basseer strikes out swinging. Lamb grounds out. Infielder Dean Carpentier flies out to center.
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Outfielder Bennett Fryman strikes out swinging. Infielder Chase Mora flies out to left-center. Infielder Coy DeFury draws a walk, as does fellow infielder Brady Boles. Cotton grounds out to strand a pair of runners.
Right-hander Wade Cooper is in for Smith. He gets outfielder Walter Urbon to foul out. Covarrubias draws a walk. Cooper strikes out Adrien Lopez. A flyout to center ends the top of the inning.
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Texas State leadoff Jackson Cotton grounds out to short. Manny Salas grounds out to second. Catcher Clayton Namken rockets a single into left field. Outfielder Jaquae Stewart misses out on a two-run shot, as it curves just right of the foul pole. He eventually draws a walk. Infielder Justin Vossos pops out to strand the runners.
USC leadoff Abbrie Covarrubias starts things off with a single into left field. Texas State right-hander Cade Smith grazes infielder Adrian Lopez with a pitch. He walks Augie Lopez to load the bases. Infielder Kevin Takeuchi clears the bases with a Grand Slam to center field. Catcher Isaac Cadena singles to center. Outfielder Jack Basseer grounds into a double-play. Outfielder Andrew Lamb singles to left. A fielder’s choice ends the frame.
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RF Jackson Cotton
DH Manny Salas
LF Jaquae Stewart
C Clayton Namken
2B Justin Vossos
CF Bennett Fryman
3B Chase Mora
1B Coy DeFury
SS Brady Boles
SP. RHP Cade Smith
2B Abbrie Covarrubias
1B Adrian Lopez
DH Augie Lopez
3B Kevin Takeuchi
C Isaac Cadena
RF Jack Basseer
LF Andrew Lamb
SS Dean Carpentier
CF Walter Urbon
SP. RHP Diego Velazquez
When: 3 p.m. CT, May 31st
Where: Bluebell Ball Park in College Station
TV Channel: ESPN+