Texas State baseball defeats Arkansas State 6-2 in series opener

By: Kash Young

KTSW Reporter

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State Bobcats took down the Arkansas State Red Wolves, 6-2, in the opening game of their three-game series inside Bobcat Ballpark.

The Bobcats wasted no time setting the tone, jumping out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Their offense remained steady throughout the night, capitalizing on back-to-back hits in the second inning to extend their lead to 4-0. 

A costly defensive error by Arkansas State in the third inning allowed Texas State to tack on two more runs, pushing the score to 6-0—more than enough cushion for their pitching staff to close the game out.

Texas State’s arms dominated from the mound, allowing just four hits and two runs over nine innings. Even when Arkansas State managed to scratch across a pair of runs late in the game, the Bobcats’ bullpen kept them in check, never allowing a serious comeback.

After the game, Texas State head coach Steven Trout addressed his team’s ability to bounce back from a tough stretch.

“We all go through slumps and times like this,” Trout said. “But we know how good of a team we are, and we can fight through and get out of it to get the win.”

One of the key factors in the Bobcats’ success was their approach against Arkansas State’s top pitcher, Jacob Malone, who entered the game with a stellar 2.00 ERA. Coach Trout revealed the team’s strategy against Malone, emphasizing the importance of attacking his fastball.

“The game plan was to ambush the heaters that Malone throws and make sure we didn’t hit into easy ground balls,” Trout explained. “We barely had any of those tonight. The whole idea was to get [Malone] off his dominant heater and force [Arkansas State] to use different pitchers to really affect him and get runs on the board.”

With the win, Texas State looks to build momentum throughout the weekend series and turn their season around. The maroon and gold improve to a 9-12 overall record with a 1-3 record in Sun Belt Conference matchups. Arkansas State falls to a 10-11 overall record and 2-2 in the SBC.

The Bobcats will take on Arkansas State for game two on Mar. 22, aiming for back-to-back victories to secure the series.