SAN MARCOS, Texas – Daylan Pena's tiebreaking home run in the bottom of the seventh inning was the difference as Texas State rallied for a 6-5 win over ULM in the series opener Thursday night at Bobcat Ballpark.
 
Texas State (34-20 overall, 16-12 Sun Belt Conference) won its ninth-straight game at Bobcat Ballpark while snapping a four-game losing streak overall. ULM (16-36, 5-22) lost its seventh-consecutive game.
 
ULM claimed a 2-0 lead in the top of the first as Riley Davis belted a 2-run home run off the batter's eye in center field. Texas State answered in the third inning with Chase Mora's 3-run homer to left to go up, 3-2. The Warhawks tied the game in the fourth on Zack Floyd's solo home run to left center. Texas State scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, using a sacrifice fly from Jose Gonzalez and an RBI single by Pena to bring in the runs. ULM responded in the top of the sixth with two runs, as Shawn Dalton Weatherbee's RBI groundout scored Kade Dupont and Cardell Thibodeaux's RBI fielder's choice allowed Davis to score just ahead of the swipe tag to knot the game at 5.
 
Davis led ULM with three hits and two RBIs. Pena had three hits and two RBIs for Texas State, while Mora had two hits and three RBIs. Kameron Weil, Davis Powell and Ryan Leary had two hits apiece for Texas State.
 
Levi Wells (8-3) threw eight innings for the win for the Bobcats, allowing five runs, four earned, on seven hits with five strikeouts. Jack Stroud threw a perfect ninth inning for his fourth save. Carson Orton (4-5) suffered the loss in relief for ULM, giving up one run on two hits with one walk and one strikeout in three innings. Cam Barlow fired four innings in the start, permitting three runs on five hits with one walk and one strikeout.
 
The series continues at 6 p.m. Friday at Bobcat Ballpark.