SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas A&M Aggies were doomed by Texas State’s three-run second inning and lost a 4-1 decision to the Bobcats on Tuesday evening at Bobcat Ballpark.
Texas A&M (22-20) drew first blood in the top of the first inning. Blake Allemand laced a single through the right side of the infield and stole second base to start the frame. After Krey Brasten struck out swinging and Mikey Reynolds flied out to leftfield, Cole Lankford plated Allemand with a two-out double to the gap in left centerfield to give A&M a 1-0 advantage.
A walk was as good as a hit for Texas State (18-22) as the Bobcats tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first. Kevin Sah drew a six-pitch walk to start the inning, stole second base and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Morgan Mickan. Cody Lovejoy knocked in Sah with a groundout to shortstop as Texas State scored a run without the benefit of a base hit in the inning.
The Bobcats claimed the lead with three runs in the bottom of the second. The rally once again started with a base on balls as, with one out, Ben McElroy was issued a seven-pitch walk. Nick Smelser singled through the right side of the infield to put runners on the corners. Tyler Pearson also singled through the right side, sending McElroy home for the 2-1 lead. A passed ball put both runners in scoring position and they scored on a sacrifice fly by JD Stinnett and an error at shortstop by Andrew Vinson on a grounder by Sah to inflate the Bobcat cushion to 4-1.
The Aggies threatened on multiple occasions getting a runner on third base with one out in three different frames, but were unable to harvest a run in any of the three innings.
Texas A&M starter Corey Ray (3-2) was saddled with the loss. He allowed four runs, two earned, on two hits and two walks over 1.2 innings. Parker Ray continued to be strong in relief, scattering three hits and one walk while striking out four over 3.2 shutout innings.
Lucas Humpal (3-1) was effective in his pre-ordained three innings to earn the win. He allowed one run on three hits while striking out one over the 3.0 frames. Scott Grist followed with 3.0 innings of shutout relief allowing three hits while striking out three. Hunter Lemke struck out two of the three batters he faced in the seventh inning to earn his seventh save of the season.
Andrew Vinson and Cole Lankford each got two hits to lead the Aggies. Vinson went 2-for-2, the first hits of his career, with one double. Lankford went 2-for-4 with a double.
Mikey Reynolds got a hit in his fourth at-bat to extend his string of consecutive games reaching base to 40, the second-longest active streak in the nation.
Pearson paced the Bobcats at the plate with three of Texas State’s six hits. He went 3-for-3 with one double, one run and one RBI.
The Aggies complete their eight-game road swing with a three-game SEC series in Tuscaloosa against the Alabama Crimson Tide. First pitches for the games are slated for 6:35 pm on Friday, 6:05 pm on Saturday and 1:05 pm on Sunday.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics