| May 19, 2006 Brannon tosses complete-game shutout as UTSA evens series with Texas State, 5-0
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Junior pitcher Blake Brannon (right) collected his second complete-game shutout of the season with a 5-0 win over I-35 rival Texas State in Southland Conference action Friday evening at Bobcat Field.
With the win, UTSA moves into solo possession of second-place by one game over the Bobcats with the series finale to be played Saturday. The Roadrunners improved to 20-9 in SLC play and 36-18 overall, while the Bobcats dropped to 19-10 in league play and 27-28 on the season. McNeese State defeated Lamar 14-3 via the mercy rule to clinch the SLC regular season title and will be the No. 1 seed in the SLC tournament.
Brannon, who has pitched 16 consecutive scoreless innings, scattered five hits over nine innings of work, struck out eight and walked three batters. He also picked up his second shutout of the season, both in the last week.
Junior Michael McKennon led the offensive charge for the Roadrunners with a 4-for-5 day that included two singles, one triple and a solo home run. McKennon also scored a game-high three runs and had two runs batted in. Sophomore Zach Etheredge also collected two RBI on the day, while freshman Michael Rockett added two hits.
Junior Dan Donaldson got the loss for Texas State and dropped his record to 4-5 on the season. Senior Cassidy Dresch was the lone Bobcat with two hits on the day. Three different players posted one hit apiece.
For the second day in a row, UTSA scored the first run of the game. Leadoff hitter Marshal Davis started off the first inning with a single to short. Junior J.R. Voyles advanced Davis to second on sacrifice bunt. McKennon (right) collected his third extra base hit in this series with an RBI-triple that got over the center fielder’s head to score Davis easily.
Brannon loaded the bases in the first inning but was able to force senior Heath Keel to groundout to third to end the frame. Again in the second inning, Brannon got the bases loaded with one out; however, junior Kyle Jones ended the inning hitting into a double play.
In the top of the third inning, the Roadrunners added one run to make the score 2-0. McKennon started off with a single, then Todesco drew a one-out walk. Rockett loaded the bases with a base hit to right field. After Donaldson recorded the second out with a strikeout, he then walked Etheredge to plate McKennon.
In the fifth, the Roadrunners tacked on a run to push the lead to 3-0. McKennon reached on his third hit of the day. A walk by Todesco put men on first and second. With two outs, Etheredge one-hopped a base hit over the third baseman to score McKennon.
In the bottom of the eighth, Brannon loaded the base pads for the third time. Again, he managed to get out of the inning without allowing a run to cross the plate. Senior Luke Cannon reached base via a walk, then with two outs senior Cody Merrell was hit by pitch and pinch hitter junior Jared Bunn loaded the bases with a walk. Brannon forced senior Dawid Bednarek to end the frame with a fly to center field. McKennon pushed the Roadrunners' lead 5-0 with his 11th home run of season in the ninth.
UTSA and Texas State wrap up the series on Saturday, May 20, at Bobcat Field in San Marcos. The winner of this series will be the second seed in the SLC Baseball Tournament held in Beaumont, Texas, on May 24-27.
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