| Freshman Ryan Rummel's first career homer, a two-run shot, tied the game at six in the eighth inning. |
NATCHITOCHES, La. ? Playing for the fourth time in seven days, UTSA and Texas State staged another classic in the 61st edition of the I-35 rivalry on Thursday's second day of the Southland Conference Tournament.
True freshman Ryan Rummel, filling in for an injured Ryan Saltzgaber and making his first start since March 23, hit a two-run homer with two outs in the eighth to tie the game at six. However, it wasn’t meant to be for the top-seeded Roadrunners, as the No. 3 Bobcats plated three runs in the 10th and held on for a thrilling 9-6 victory at Brown-Stroud Stadium.
UTSA dropped to 35-21 overall with the loss and will play Lamar at 11 a.m. on Friday. Texas State, which lost its opener on Wednesday and was facing elimination, ended its three-game losing streak and improved to 36-22 overall. The Bobcats will play Sam Houston State at 3 p.m. on Friday.
Texas State’s game-winning inning started when freshman Zach Calhoon (4-3) walked the first two batters of the 10th. Junior Mark Ruffin was called in from the bullpen and, after a Gerry Cervantez sacrifice bunt, the right-hander gave up back-to-back run-scoring singles to Casey Guest and Thomas Field, which gave the Bobcats an 8-6 advantage. A sacrifice fly to center by Laurn Randall brought home the final tally of the inning.
Texas State reliever Eric Weaver (6-1), who entered the game after Rummel’s home run, retired UTSA in order in the bottom of the frame and earned the victory.
It was a back-and-forth affair that featured three ties and a quartet of lead changes.
The Roadrunners struck first when junior Trent Lockwood delivered a two-out single in the third that brought home sophomore James Keithley with the game’s first run.
Texas State tied it up with a tally the following inning, but UTSA answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the fourth.
After the Bobcats scored a pair in the fifth to take a 3-2 lead, the Roadrunners tied the game yet again when redshirt freshman Tim Palincsar launched Jason Baca’s first offering of the bottom of the frame over the right-field wall for his sixth homer of the season.
Texas State then put up a three-spot in the eighth and that set the stage for UTSA’s dramatics in the bottom of the stanza.
Lockwood and junior Zach Etheredge led off the inning with back-to-back base hits and, after senior Mitch Ponza struck out swinging, junior Phillip Allen brought home Lockwood with a sacrifice fly to right to pull the Roadrunners within two. That set the stage for Rummel’s heroics.
Palincsar was 3-for-4 with a double and the fifth-inning long ball, while Lockwood added a pair of base hits.
Right-hander Ryan Proudfoot (4-2, 3.02 ERA) will get the nod for the Roadrunners on Friday morning.