Texas State Still Alive in Southland Tournament after 14-2 Win vs. Nicholls
SAN MARCOS, Texas - No. 1 seed Texas State equaled a season-high with 24 hits to stay alive in the Southland Conference Baseball Tournament with a 14-2 win over No. 8 Nicholls to force a third game between the teams Saturday at 1 p.m.
The winner will advance to championship game of the Southland Conference tournament Saturday at 6 p.m. against either Stephen F. Austin or Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, who play Saturday at 9 a.m. The two early games will be streamed live on SLC NOW, available free on Southland.org while the championship will be televised live on the Southland Conference Television Network.
Texas State (38-21) scored four runs in the top of the third inning, three in the fourth, another four in the seventh and two more in the ninth.
Every starter had a hit and eight players had multiple hits, including the top three batters in the order - Tyler Sibley, Jeff McVaney and Casey Kalenkosky - who had three hits as did Kyle Kubitza. Andrew Stumph, Bret Atwood and Christian Gallegos added two hits each, while designated hitter Clint Vest had one.
Cory Falvey went 5-for-6 to tie the tournament record for hits in a game. McVaney drove in three runs and hit two doubles of the Bobcats' five doubles. Kalenkosky also drove in three runs.
Sophomore Travis Ballew (4-2) tossed a career-long eight innings and fanned career-best eight batters. He walked two and limited Nicholls to two runs on six hits. Jeremy Hill and Blake Bergeron drove in those runs in the sixth inning, to pull as close as 7-2.
Nicholls threw five pitchers in the game and none went longer than 3.1 innings and that was starter Mike Wisecarver, who allowed seven runs and on 10 hits. He took the loss and fell to 4-6 on the year.
The Bobcats finished the day with 39 hits thanks to 15 in the 13-2 seven-inning win over Sam Houston State earlier in the day.
Nicholls (28-28) opened the tournament with a 6-0 win over Texas State on Wednesday.
If Texas State can reach the championship game it would be its fourth appearance in game in the last five years. Should Nicholls advance, it would mark just their second ever title-game appearance and their first since winning it in 1998.
A No. 8 seed has never won the Southland Conference tournament and only two teams have won both the regular-season and tournament titles in the same season since 1993, though it has been accomplished eight times total.
Texas State Coach Ty Harrington
On starting pitcher Travis Ballew's performance
"Travis Ballew was really, really good tonight. When you get into postseason play, people have to step in, particularly when you're battling from the loser's bracket. Ballew had his longest outing of the year, and for it to come at a critical moment for us was huge, there's no question. He attacked everything all night. He got a little bit loose in the seventh, and then found it again, which shows that he was determined, and that he wanted to be out there, and he wasn't going to let fatigue get in the way. It shows the kind of competitiveness and courage he has. It was big for us to get that kind of outing from him, and we're very proud of him."
On the hitting performance
"We won the game because of our two-out hits tonight. It dated back to the third inning with a two-out rally. Two-out rallies win games because the other team thinks they're about out of it, and then all the sudden it keeps on going. We grinded at-bats all night. I was proud of their efforts, and hopefully they will be willing to get some rest tonight and come back and try again tomorrow.
Texas State Outfielder Jeff McVaney
On what got the hitting going tonight
"Sibley's home run still carries over from the previous game since that was still today, but we all started squaring balls up and it was just one after another. Everyone was fired up; everyone was cheering in the dugout, which really gets everything going.
On the significance of the starting pitching over the last few days
"Our starting pitching is out of control right now. It's really great, because it saves a lot of our arms when we need them for the next few games. Travis Ballew did a great job today, and Colton Turner did a great job in the first game also. Any time relievers don't have to go in, it means you're doing pretty well with your starters. It gives me a good chance to concentrate on hitting, and it really works out."
On the confidence level of the team right now
"I think it's a good boost for us to get three wins in a row, but we're still focused and we know what we have to do. We're not stopping or anything. We have to stay focused, and come out ready to play tomorrow."
Texas State Starting Pitcher Travis Ballew
On where this outing came from
"I had a week off where I haven't started, and only threw three innings. I went out there and was trying to get ahead of hitters. My slider was pretty effective, and I also mixed in some changeups that were very effective. I was just trying to go out there and get ahead.
On the team's performance at the plate, and his performance on the mound
"I was out there trying to throw strikes. I haven't had a long start in awhile. I was getting ahead of hitters. Our pitching staff has been great. The offense turned it around today. I think we had like 45-50 hits today combined, so that's pretty good."
On when he felt in the groove
"I'd say I felt good when I started out and threw up the 5 zeros, but then when they got the two spot, it was a little rough in there. I was a little frustrated with one of those runs that scored, but I was throwing the ball over the plate pretty well. I felt pretty good the whole game. I was getting tired towards the end, since it was the longest outing I've had, so I was out there trying to get ahead of them."
On the feeling in the dugout right now
"The umpired had to tell us to quit yelling so much, because we were out there cheering guys on. The attitude in the dugout is pretty good, and pretty high-strung right now."
Texas State Outfielder Cory Falvey
On his career-best 5 hits in tonight's game
"This is my first night like this. I've had nights where I've had at least three hits, four hits maybe, but this is the first time I've ever had 5 hits ever in my whole career.
On what made the offense tick tonight
"The fact that they had beaten us the first game gave us that fire to come back this game and make sure we came back and beat them, so we can keep this going. We don't want to end this season right now. We have a lot of potential on this team. We want to keep this rolling, and hopefully make it far. Our offense just stepped up today, and saw the ball real well and just hit it where it was pitched."
On coming out tomorrow ready to play well
"We've just got to get it through our heads that we still have to play them tomorrow, and then play another one, and just keep it rolling."
Nicholls Coach Seth Thibodaux:
On how they approached the end of the game
"They way we play and who we are is that we're going to battle and we're going to battle nonstop."
On Texas State's performance
"They were determined tonight, from the first pitch of the game. They were very impressive and they refused to lose today and that was their mentality and we didn't match it but we got to tomorrow."
On tomorrow's elimination game
"We've got to be the aggressor tomorrow and we have to play with some heart and some pride tomorrow to get into the championship game."