Bobcat fans saw it all in Sunday afternoon’s 11-4 victory over the Central Arkansas Bears. The series-clinching sweep included designated hitter Jeff McVaney going back to his old position as a brief relief pitcher, as well as the very untraditional 1-5-6 double play to begin the top of the 5th inning. In addition to that, Laurn Randell capped his weekend with another masterful performance. The loyal 881 in attendance watched on, as their home team swept their opponents for the third time this season.
Three consecutive hits by Jason Martinson, Kyle Livingstone, and Kyle Kubitza got the ball rolling for the Bobcats, as Martinson scored to put Texas State up 1-0 after one inning of play. In the third inning, the Bobcats exploded at the plate with 6 runs on 6 hits. Amongst the offensive outburst, Laurn Randell hit a two-run blast into the softball field in left-center, his 3rd of the series and season, while second baseman Tyler Sibley lined a 2-run double in the gap in right-center.
The Bears answered with 4 runs through innings 4-6. Clay Washington, the Central Arkansas designated hitter, led the way during their spurt, as he legged out a triple in the 4th inning and a double in the 6th inning. With the Bobcat lead trimmed to 7-4, the home team’s bats would prove to be too much for the visitors to overcome, as third baseman Kyle Kubitza crushed a solo HR in the bottom half of the 6th. Texas State ended up scoring runs in the 7th and 8th inning as well to finally pull out the 11-4 victory.
Kyle Kubitza and Laurn Randell led the way for the Bobcats’ offense recording 3 hits apeace. Kubitza went 3-5 at the plate with 2 RBI’s and also scored twice. His solo shot in the 6th inning marked as his 4th of the season. Laurn Randell continued his Superman-like role in Sunday’s victory. The senior outfielder went 3-4 with 2 RBI’s and 2 runs of his own. Randell ended the weekend going 10 of 11 from the plate with 3 long bombs, 6 RBI’s, two triples, two stolen bases, and 6 runs. Bret Atwood, Jason Martinson, and Kyle Livingston each had 2 hits in their respective contribution.
For the Bears, the man of the hour was undoubtedly Clay Washington. He went a perfect 4-4 from the plate with 1 RBI and 2 runs. He is improved his consecutive game hit streak to 13 with a single in the first inning.
Lee Colon(4-2) got the win for the Bobcats as he went 5 and a third innings pitched with 4 earned runs off of 8 hits and 1 strikeout. Fielding Pittman, Jeff McVaney, and Garret Carruth worked as Colon’s relievers as they only allowed a total of 3 hits in the final 3 and two-thirds innings.
Central Arkansas’ Chase Huchingson(1-1) was tagged with the loss as he allowed 7 runs off 8 hits. He was relieved in the third inning by Bobby Pritchett, who pitched the next 4 and a third innings, giving up 3 runs off 5 hits. The Bears drop to 9-22 overall and 3-12 in the Southland with the loss, while Texas State improves to 20-10 on the season and 12-3 in conference play.
The Bobcats will travel to Austin on Tuesday to take on the Longhorns for the second and final time of the season before hitting the road to battle Southeastern Louisiana in a very important three game series next weekend. Texas State is still atop the Southland Conference standings while SE Louisiana is close on their heels at 10-5. Tuesday's battle starts at 6:05 PM at Disch-Falk Field on the UT campus, while the three battles against SLU will take place on Friday at 6:30 pm, Saturday at 2:00 PM, and Sunday at 1:00 PM. All four games will be aired on 89.9 FM KTSW, ktsw.net, and txstatebobcats.com, with pregame coverage starting at 15 minutes before first pitch.
Andrew Vizzone, KTSW Sports Staff Writer
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