Login
Texas State baseball beats Texas A&M: Takeaways from Bobcats' statement win
Texas State baseball earned its best win of the season Tuesday night, pulling off a 9-8 upset over No. 18-ranked Texas A&M.
The two offenses went blow for blow, as the Bobcats took a 9-7 lead into the ninth inning. Closing pitcher Wade Cooper struggled with his command, giving up a double to Jorian Wilson and allowing a run after throwing two wild pitches. After walking Boston Kellner, Cooper got first baseman Gavin Grahovac on a groundout to secure the game.
Texas State trails 16-50 in the overall rivalry, although this is its second win over Texas A&M in its past three meetings. This is also the Bobcats' first win over a Power Four team this season.
MORE:Chase Mora breaks MLB star Paul Goldschmidt's HR record
Here are some takeaways from the win.
Statement win
Texas State gave its Austin neighbors a scare last week, falling 10-8. It also briefly held the lead over the Aggies in a 9-6 loss in College Station. This time, the Bobcats finished the job.
The Texas State pitching has been wobbly at best against Power Four teams. However, the bats are as hot as any team in the NCAA, and they scortched the Texas A&M bullpen. The Aggies recorded 10 hits and seven earned runs. The Bobcats used four pitchers to get through six innings before handing things off to Cade Smith, who's been one of Texas State's most reliable arms. Although he gave up two runs on four hits in 2 β innings of work, Texas State's 13-hit day proved to be just enough.Β
MORE:Longhorns erase deficit, avoid upset against Bobcats
An important note, though, is that there are two Sun Belt teams above Texas A&M in RPI. Coastal Carolina and Southern Miss are 13th and 16th in the rankings, ahead of 38th-ranked Texas State. The Bobcats will visit the Golden Eagles in two weeks for one of their toughest tests of the season.
Jaquae Stewart is making it count
After a strong non-conference slate, Texas State outfielder Jaquae Stewart hit a bit of a bump when the Sun Belt schedule rolled around. His batting average is the second-worst among the starters during conference play at .250, and he has the second-most strikeouts with 13.Β
However, Stewart is finding his swingΒ timely hitting and RBIs. He went 2-for-4 at the plate against the Aggies, hitting a two-run homer in the third and a critical two-RBI single in the bottom of the seventh. Stewart has three home runs in his past four games and is riding a six-game hitting streak.
Even with Stewart's propensity to strike out, he is tied for second in RBIs (14) in Sun Belt games and has a .973 on-base plus slugging. His power as one of the later hitters in the lineup is part of what makes the Bobcats so dangerous.
More Keller Eberly?
It's a small sample, but Texas State pitcher Keller Eberly hasn't given up a run in five innings pitched this year. He struck out the side in his lone inning of work Tuesday, reinforcing the idea that he should get more run.
The Bobcats' bullpen has been a roller coaster. Aside from Smith and Cooper, there are only two pitchers who have pitched more than 15 innings with an earned run average below 10. In Eberly's last three outings against Texas, Georgia Southern and Texas A&M, he's given up three hits and struck out eight in four innings.
