Texas State Cruises Past Lamar, 10-1, to Pull within One Win of Championship Game
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas ? Texas State, the top seed in the Southland Conference Tournament, scored six runs in the third inning and cruised to a 10-1 victory over No. 4 seed Lamar Thursday night at Whataburger Field.
The win put the Bobcats into their bracket final and a win Friday night against either Lamar or No. 5 seed UT Arlington would send them to the tournament championship game Saturday night at 6 p.m. The Cardinals and Mavericks meet Friday at noon for the right to play Texas State, which won its 40th game this season to set the school record, surpassing the 1987 team, which won 39.
On Thursday, the Bobcats recorded 10 hits, played error-free defense and saw starter Brian Borski and reliever Tyler Brundridge allow just one run on six hits.
Texas State left fielder Spenser Dennis was 3-for-5 with an RBI and three runs scored, while designated hitter Keith Prestridge and catcher Ben Theriot added two hits apiece. Theriot also added a pair of sacrifice flies. Teammate Kyle Livingstone also added a sac fly as the Bobcats left only seven runners on base.
Lamar scored its run in the seventh inning thanks to a lead-off triple by center fielder Anthony Moore. He scored on a ground out by Tyler Link. Third baseman Chris Dunkin and Moore each had two hits to lead the Cardinals, who now play UT Arlington in an elimination game Friday at noon.
Borski got the win to move to 7-3, allowing one run on five hits with a strikeout against a surprising six walks. Matison Smith took the loss for Lamar to slip to 6-6. He allowed five runs (one earned) on four hits in 2 1/3 innings.
Action continues Friday morning in an elimination game at 9 a.m. between No. 3 seed UTSA and No. 2 seed Southeastern Louisiana. The winner will play face No. 7 seed Sam Houston State Friday at 4 p.m.
Live stats for all tournament action is available at www.southland.org, which also features SLC NOW, the conference’s streaming video channel.
Texas State Head Coach Ty Harrington
“I thought it was a great night for us. We did a lot of exceptional things tonight, starting with Brian Borski. He was very competitive tonight. He has been very effective in our games as they progressed and he got better tonight as the game went on. We had two big double plays that helped us out defensively tonight. Atwood’s catches were critical to our success also.”
“Offensively, we only got 10 hits, but Lamar opened the door for us with some opportunities and we were good enough to take advantage of them. We had three sacrifice flies tonight. If you look at the box score, when you have no errors in tournament play, you are doing something good.”
“The game before ours was a distraction if you let it be, but our baseball team enjoys watching baseball. They looked at this as entertainment as opposed to a distraction.”
Texas State Pitcher Brian Borski
“I would have liked to start the game earlier, but it didn’t mess with me too much. I was able to keep my focus.”
“I didn’t think I had my best stuff. The last couple of outings I didn’t have my changeup working but I was able to find the feel of it tonight. I didn’t have a good fastball like I normally do.”
“The defense really pumps me up; it was a big time boost on the mound. Atwood’s diving catch in centerfield early in the game pumped me up for the rest of the inning.”
Texas State Outfielder Bret Atwood
“When I was little, I was stuck in the outfield because I was left handed. The only thing that kept me entertained was diving for balls in the outfield. It got me accustomed for diving for pretty much anything that comes near me.
“I don’t worry about a ball getting by me on a diving catch. I just smile and start running as hard as I can when those plays are coming my way. I kind of like those.”
“We executed very well this game. We got the bunts down when we needed too, we got the sacrifice flies when we needed to and were able to move runners over. Whenever you can execute as well as we did and have a pitcher that is out there battling, you know you’re doing something right.”
Lamar Head Coach Jim Gilligan
“We got out pitched and out-defensed tonight. Atwood put on a show in the outfield tonight. They made the plays and we didn’t. We hit the ball ok and had a lot of loud outs but didn’t produce. The six run inning should have been maybe a two run inning if we were playing defense like we should have. Our starter didn’t have his best stuff tonight and (James) Brandhorst didn’t look like he was warm when he came in. He settled in after he was in there for awhile. They did a great job tonight.”
“Without a doubt this is the best Texas State team I have ever seen. Even more than that, they are one of the best Southland teams I have ever seen. You can’t just restrict it to Texas State teams. This is a team deserving of an NCAA bid whether or not they win another game in this tournament. They are one of the best teams we have played all year, I really like their club.”
“We’re going to throw (Kevin) Angelle tomorrow. Once we get to Saturday it isn’t so bad because I pulled our pitchers early to keep pitch counts down. We have to find a way to get to Saturday and our pitching will come back around. If we would have scored a couple of more runs, I probably would have left Brandhorst in longer, but they had a six run lead at the time. They got a lot out of their starter today, he showed a lot of poise and we could never capitalize on a rally they started.”