Bobcats Swipe Lumberjacks in First Game of SLC Tournament

The Texas State Bobcat Baseball team rode into the beautiful weather of Corpus Christi, Texas with bats swinging, taking game one of the SLC Tournament 9-2 against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks.

The Cats blasted three home runs in the game, starting with a three-run hooking bomb by Paul Goldschmidt that narrowly stayed inside the line that put the Bobcats up 3-1 in the third inning. The one run by the Lumberjacks came in the 2nd inning when Bo Coffman crossed the plate after a Justin Long shot to center field.

Kane Holbrooks started for the Cats in game one and came out a little rocky with the SFA batters getting contact. The 'Jacks left a runner on third base consecutively for the first three innings giving Holbrooks time to settle in his shoes. After the Goldschmidt home run and no outs on the board, many fans thought a big inning may be in store, but SFA starting pitcher Erich Lehmann made three consecutive batters fly out to leave Keith Prestridge and Spencer Dennis on base.

After a run for the 'Jacks in the top of the 4th, and a rebuttal sac fly score by Prestridge the score read 4-2 heading into the 5th. Then came the consistent SLC Pitcher of the Year Holbrooks, who retired eight consecutive batters, while the Bobcats bats came alive in a big, big way.

First, Lance Loftin hit a towering foul ball that would have been a home run if it had been hit a couple of feet to the right. Then, on the very next pitch Loftin decided he wanted to hit one in play by smacking a shot to left center field. It almost busted the lights of the scoreboard that stands about 50 feet back from the left center field wall at Whataburger Field.

Next, Jason Martinson hit a shot to right center field that was thrown back from the stands giving Martinson a stand up triple. Tyler Sibley came up to bat after Martinson and knocked in a two-run home run shot to left field giving the Bobcats a 7-2 lead after 5 innings.

Texas State then scored on two more runs in the 7th and 8th innings while the pitching staff for the Bobcats was really the icing on the cake for the end of the game. Holbrooks recorded the win, pitching seven innings, while Tyler Brundridge came in for the last two innings only facing six batters. Overall, the team stayed away from a first round blooper by great pitching and fielding to give the Cats' bats some room to do their work.

The Bobcats move on to the second round and will await the winner between the UT-Arlington Mavericks and the Lamar Cardinals; which are set to play at 7 p.m. The game for the Cats regardless of which team they play will be at 7 p.m on Thursday. You can head to Corpus Christi, Texas to experience the beautiful weather and watch your Cats, or listen to the game starting with the pre-game slated 20 minutes before game time. You can listen to all the action on 89.9 KTSW or by going to txstatebobcats.com.

- James McNeal & Dalton Sweat, KTSW Sports Staff Writers