| Senior All-American Michael Rockett went 3-for-5 with his 10th homer of the year on Sunday. |
SAN ANTONIO ? No. 26 Texas State pushed across a pair of runs in the 11th inning and the Bobcats won the rubber game of this weekend's three-game Southland Conference series with UTSA, 5-3, on Sunday afternoon at Roadrunner Field.
Texas State (33-12, 20-6 SLC) picked up its third I-35 rivalry series win in the last four years, while the Roadrunners (26-21, 15-12 SLC) were unable to post the 500th victory in program history for the second day in a row.
Kyle Kubitza led off the deciding inning with a single to left center off UTSA left-handed reliever Matt Crocker. Ben Theriot followed with a sacrifice bunt and Roadrunners head coach Sherman Corbett then called in junior closer Zach Calhoon.
The right-hander was able to coax a grounder to third off the bat of Tyler Sibley, but junior Lance Brown was unable to field it cleanly. Pinch hitter Keith Prestridge followed with a RBI single to right to plate Kubitza. Sibley, who moved to third on the Prestridge's base hit, came home one batter later on a wild pitch.
Right-hander Michael Russo (2-2), who entered the contest with runners on the corners and two down in the eighth, held UTSA scoreless over the final 3.1 frames for the win. He gave up a pair of singles and struck out three.
Crocker (3-1) allowed just one run on three hits in 3.2 innings but was tagged with his first loss of the season.
The Bobcats jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the second when Lance Loftin and Jason Martinson hit back-to-back homers off UTSA southpaw starter Andy Benedict. Loftin's was a two-run shot to left, his third of the year, and Martinson deposited a Benedict fastball over the wall in left center for his second homer of the series and sixth of the spring.
The Birds responded with a two-spot in their half of the stanza.
Senior All-American Michael Rockett led off the inning with his 10th bomb of the season and sophomore Tyler Carpenter brought home Brown, who tripled with one down, with a sacrifice fly to center three batters later.
UTSA tied the game at three in the fifth when junior Ryan Rummel stroked a leadoff single up the middle, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Casey Selsor and scored on a base hit by senior Marshal Davis.
Rockett went 3-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to a dozen contests, while Brown, Davis, Rummel and Selsor added a pair of hits apiece.
Junior Ryan Proudfoot had one of his best games of the year out of the Roadrunners bullpen. The righty tossed 4.2 scoreless frames, giving up three hits and three walks to go along with a pair of punchouts.
Texas State starter Brian Borski surrendered three runs on nine hits and struck out three in his 6.1 frames.
The series featured 16 home runs, with nine coming from UTSA.
The Birds are back in action next weekend when they travel to Lake Charles, La., to face McNeese State in a three-game SLC series. First pitch in Friday's opener is slated for 6:30 p.m. at Cowboy Diamond.