SAN MARCOS, Texas – The ULM baseball team suffered 6-1 and 3-2 defeats, the latter in 11 innings, to Texas State on Saturday in the schools' first Sun Belt contests of the season.
Both teams agreed to move the games to the Lone Star State after floods inundated Monroe.
Game One
Texas State inched ahead with runs in the first and second innings. Jonathan Ortega led off with a double down the right field line and scored on Granger Studdard's single. The Bobcats converted a double-steal in the second to extend their lead to 2-0.
It became a 4-0 game in the top half of the fifth when Texas State strung together three straight singles after a leadoff base hit.
Nathan Pugh tripled on the first pitch after the seventh-inning stretch and came around to score on Jacob Stockton's RBI groundout, but the 5-1 deficit was as close as ULM would get.
Game Two
Studdard got the best of ULM in the nightcap, hitting the game-winning homer in the 11th inning that capped off a game in which he drove in all three Bobcat runs.
ULM had retired 11 in a row before Granger's round-tripper.
A leadoff walk, sacrifice bunt and single allowed Texas State to take a 1-0 lead. Nathan Reynolds' first ULM home run in the bottom of the first knotted the score.
ULM manufactured a run the old-fashioned way in the bottom of the fourth that tied the score at 2. Ross Moore, making his first start since March 1, drew an 11-pitch walk and moved to second on a Jacob Stockton sacrifice bunt. He made it to third on a wild pitch and then scored on Danny Springer's groundout.
Diamond Notes…
-ULM played seven doubleheaders in 2015, going 8-6.
-Keller Bradford extended his season-opening scoreless streak to 14 innings, allowing just nine hits and one walk in that span.
-Nathan Pugh's triple was the fifth of his career and second of the season.
-Anthony Herrera retired seven in a row to begin his Game Two outing before the deciding home run. He had pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings in a row since the opening weekend prior to Saturday's action.
-Spencer Hemphill's three hits tied a career-high (April 1, 2015 vs. Louisiana Tech).
Up Next…
ULM will battle the Bobcats again on Sunday with a 2 p.m. first pitch.
For updates on the baseball squad, be sure to follow the team on Twitter @ULM_BSB, Facebook (www.facebook.com/ULMBaseball) and Instagram (@ULM_BSB).
