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The Cowboys got their season off to a good start as they won two out of their three games against the Texas State Bobcats this weekend.
Friday (2/16): W 6-2
The Cowboys started their season off swinging scoring six runs in their first game of 2018. The game started slowly with no runs until the sixth inning. The scoring started with a stolen base from Ryan Cash where he was able to advance and score on two Texas State errors. Next the Gap Band played in San Marcos as Colin Simpson hit a 2-run homer to right center putting the Pokes up 3-0. The Cowboys would score on another error and an RBI from Cameron Dobbs in the seventh.
The Cowboys kept Texas State scoreless until the eighth. With a 5-0 lead in his back pocket, Joe Lienhard got Jaylen Hubbard to hit a ground ball to Dobbs at short. Rather than cut off the run, the Cowboys opted to turn the double play and Texas State got on the board.
Simpson answered with another RBI in the ninth for the Cowboys with a single, bringing Cash around to score and make the score 6-1. In their last ups, the Bobcats were able to claw another single run out of Carson Teel in the bottom half of the final frame, but it wasn’t enough
Oklahoma State starting pitcher Johnathan Heasley pitched six innings giving up four hits and three walks to go with six strikeouts en route to his first win of the season. Lienhard pitched two complete innings giving up three hits, a run and two walks, while striking out three. Teel pitched the final inning and gave up a run, two hits and struck out a pair.
Bobcat starter Nicholas Fraze pitched 5 1⁄3 innings and gave up a hit, two runs and five walks. Fraze struck out six Cowboys in the loss. Braden Pearson pitched 1 2⁄3 inning and gave up three runs on three hits, two walks and fanned one. Noah Walker pitched two innings, giving up one run on three hits and a walk, while striking out two.
Game 2 (2/17): L 10-1
The Bobcats came out and jumped all over starting pitcher Brady Basso on Saturday, plating six runs in the first two innings — five in the second inning.
The Cowboys’ only run in this game came from a ninth-inning RBI from Daniel DeSimone. The redshirt freshman made a pinch-hitting appearance with the bases full, and drew a five-pitch, bases-loaded walk for the first RBI of his collegiate career.
Colin Simpson was the only Cowboy that had multiple hits with two.
Bobcat right-hander Connor Reicht was able to keep the Cowboys quiet with eight strikeouts, only giving up two hits and no walks. Meanwhile Cowboy pitcher Brady Basso was taken out after 1 2⁄3 innings after giving up four hits and six runs. The Cowboys weren’t able to overcome the early six-run deficit.
Game 3 (2/18): W 6-5
The Cowboys delivered in the rubber game of this series. The scoring started fast in the first inning with Jon Littell hitting an RBI groundout to bring in Andrew Rosa. Colin Simpson hit another home run to bring in Rosa and Cameron Dobbs to put three runs on the board. The Cowboys would score runs in the fourth and sixth thanks to RBIs from Matt Kroon and Rosa.
Simpson is off to a hot start, going 6-for-13 over the weekend. He has two dingers, a double and five RBIs. On a team with 11 freshman and 12 sophomores, having an upperclassman come out and get off to a good start is great.
Cowboy pitching did its job in the rubber game as well keeping the Bobcats at bay. Starting pitcher Mitchell Stone struggled a bit giving up three runs on six hits in his 1 1⁄3 innings. Joe Lienhard came in to relieve Stone and left with the victory. He gave up one run on two hits and three walks, while striking out two. Reza Aleaziz and C.J. Varela each tossed two scoreless innings. Carson Teel picked up his first save of the season, giving up one run on one hit. He struck out four batters in two innings while walking one.
Next up the Pokes take on Oral Roberts on Tuesday in Allie. P Reynolds at 4 p.m. in their home opener. In case you need a reason to make it out, they’ll be selling beer. There’s rain in the forecast on Tuesday but hopefully it comes early and we get the game in.