FINAL:
Texas State - 5
Texas - 3
BOX SCORE
Winning Pitcher: Carson Laws (1-0)
Losing Pitcher: Jason Flores (2-1)
Save: Alex Valentin (1)
RECAP:
Top 1st - LHP Kade Bing took the mound for the Horns tonight and should have had a quick 1-2-3 first, but an error by 3B Casey Borba negated that. Bing was undeterred though and got a fly out to end the top half of the frame.
In the Bottom 1st, DH Rylan Galvan got a 2 out double to RF and CF Will Gasparino was intentionally walked, but 1B Kimble Schuessler hit a ground out to the 1B on the second pitch he saw.
In the Top 2nd, Bing was back on the mound and needed just 6 pitches to retire the side in order.
In the Bottom 2nd, the Horns got a lead off walk from 3B Casey Borba, but C Cole Chamberlain hit into a double play and then RF Tommy Farmer struck out swinging.
In the Top 3rd, Bing issued a lead off walk and then saw the runner advance to 2B on a wild pitch. The runner would advance to 3B on a sac bunt. The next batter then drew a walk on Bing. Texas State would take the early 1-0 lead as they got a sac fly from the two hole hitter.
In the Bottom 3rd, the Horns were retired in order with a ground out and a pair of fly outs.
In the Top 4th, Kade Bing bounced back with a 5 pitch inning to put up a zero on the board.
In the Bottom 4th, Rylan Galvan struck out swinging to lead off the inning, but the Horns would tie the game on the second pitch that Will Gasparino saw as he crushed one to LF that went over the Yeti Yard to make it 1-1. Kimble Schuessler followed up with a single up the middle, but Casey Borba and Cole Chamberlain failed to get on base.
In the Top 5th, Bing was back out and again retired the side in order to keep the game level.
In the Bottom 5th, the Bobcats went to the bullpen. Tommy Farmer led off by getting plunked in the shoulder, following by a LF Jayden Duplantier walk to put two men on and no outs. Unfortunately, Ethan Mendoza struck out, followed by a Jalin Flores foul out, and finally a Rylan Galvan pop up to end the scoring threat to keep the score at 1-1.
In the Top 6th, Kade Bing was back on the mound again and retired the side in order again, yet to still give up a hit.
In the Bottom 6th, Texas State went to the bullpen and brought in their best arm and closer, Carson Laws who struck out Will Gasparino on a bevy of 96mph fastball, then struck out Kimble Schuessler on multiple breaking balls, and then got Casey Borba to fly out to LF.
In the Top 7th, Kade Bing was back on the mound. He immediately issued a four pitch walk and then gave up a sac bunt, prompting Coach Jim Schlossnagle to head to the mound and make a call to the bullpen to remove him even though he had yet to give up a hit on the day. RHP Jason Flores came in to pitch for the Horns and got a fly out and strikeout to keep the score 1-1.
In the Bottom 7th, the Horns got the lead off runner to 2B as Cole Chamberlain hit the ball a mile high and it ended up dropping onto the turf a few feet away from the mound as the Bobcats lost it in the light. Tommy Farmer then hit a single to the shortstop against the shift to put runners on 1B and 3B with no outs. The umpire then called a balk on the pitcher, bringing Cole Chamberlain into score and moving Tommy Farmer to 2B, still with no outs. Jayden Duplantier then laid down a perfect bunt single to the left side and stole 2B to put runners on 2B and 3B with no outs and the Horns holding a narrow 2-1 lead.
Unfortunately, Ethan Mendoza grounded out to the SS and followed by Jalin Flores striking out. Rylan Galvan was able to work a deep count and draw a walk to load the bases for Wil Gasparino, but he would strike out, leaving the bases loaded, but sending the Horns to the Top 8th with a 2-1 lead.
In the Top 8th, Jason Flores struck out the first two batters he faced, and that is when the wheels came off the bus. The lead off man Ryne Farber hit a double to left CF on what should have been a single, but a less than stellar effort from Jayden Duplantier allowed the runner to slide in safely at 2B. The next batter then hit a towering fly ball to CF which Will Gasparino should have had, but he had it bounce out of his glove just before hitting the CF wall, which scored a run and put the runner on 3B. Not done yet, the Bobcats then took the lead as Chase Mora hit a single on the ground to the left side that came off Casey Borba's glove. The next batter then got a 89mph cutter over the heart of the plate and promptly sent it into orbit for a two run HR to make it 5-2 Bobcats.
In the Bottom 8th, the Bobcats went to the bullpen again and the new righty on the mound promptly retired the side in order, including back to back strikeouts.
In the Top 9th, Texas went to the bullpen and brought in RHP Andre Duplantier who retired the side in order to send it to the Bottom 9th with the Horns trailing 5-2.
In the Bottom 9th, the Bobcats went to the bullpen again and brought in one of their weekend starters to close the game out. Tommy Farmer drew a lead off walk to get things started the Horns. Jayden Duplantier then hit an RBI double to the base of the Yeti Yard in left CF to make it 5-3 Bobcats. Ethan Mendoza continued his poor night at the plate by striking out for the first out. Jalin Flores then collected his first hit of the evening as he hit a single to RF, putting runners on 1B and 3B with just 1 out. Rylan Galvan then worked a walk to load the bases after working a long count bringing Will Gasparino to the plate with the bases loaded again. On the second pitch Gaspo saw, he hit a pop fly to RF for the 2nd out. Down to their last out, with the bases loaded, Kimble Schuessler hit a tailing liner to the right side that the 2B was able to leap up and snag for the last out, ruining the Horns chance to tie or win the game.
Once again, the Bobcats win a game in Austin, running their streak to 4 games.
BIG MOMENT:
After taking the lead in the Bottom 7th, Texas State struck out back to back to start the Top 8th. Then the proverbial wheels fell off.
The Bobcats got a double, then hit a deep fly ball to CF off of Gasparino's glove which score a run and put a runner on 3B. They then got an RBI single on a play which saw the ball come off the heel of Casey Borba's glove and then hit a 2 run HR to make it 5-2 Bobcats.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE:
LHP Kade Bing left the game after 81 pitches of no hit baseball.
His final line was 6.1 IP, 0 hits, 1 run, 3 BB, 2 K
He deserved a win tonight, but unfortunately, the offense was stuck in neutral all night long and couldn't get it down the lefty.
TAKEAWAYS:
Overall, not bad baseball, but free passes allowed the first run and then poor defense cost the Horns in the end.
Offensively, way too many bad at-bats early in the game as the Horns struggled to get anything going and then when they did get production from the bottom of the lineup, the top of the lineup couldn't produce. The typically trusty Mendoza and Flores combo went a combined 1-10 on the night with the only hit coming from Flores late in the game.
The team needs to shower and wash this one out of the brains quickly as they are are about to go up against an offensive juggernaut in Georgia this weekend.
Post Game with Coach Schlossnagle:
A lot of bad at-bats early. Their guy hasn't thrown that many strikes all year
Bing was great. Flores was fine. Will makes that catch a lot of time, but today didn't.
One big hit escaped us. Top of the order up and didn't get the ball put in play.
Proud of the way we fought back. Good ball game.
NEXT UP:
Horns (23-4) host #3 Georgia Bulldogs for a three game series this weekend
