Texas State beats Louisiana to clinch Sun Belt tournament berth

Trailing by four runs early, the Texas State Bobcats rallied to beat Louisiana 8-6 Sunday afternoon on ‘Senior Day,’ clinching both the series and a berth in the Sun Belt Conference tournament.

Texas State fell behind 4-0 in the top of the first, but did not back down.

By the end of the second innning, the Bobcats had pulled within one. In the fourth, they scored twice to take a 6-5 lead and never trailed again.

Louisiana won the first game of the series, 7-4, on Friday. Texas State bounced back to win 6-5 on Saturday.

By Sunday, they had won again, earning their second series victory over the Ragin’ Cajuns and their first since 2004.

Records

Texas State 25-25, 13-14
Louisiana 29-23, 15-12

Highlights

Senior Luke Sherley bashed three hits, including his fifth home run of the season, and scored three runs. Jacob Almendarez also had three hits and one RBI. Freshman Dalton Shuffield (from Johnson High School) went two for six.

Wes Engle started on the mound but was removed after failing to record an out. He did not concede a hit, but all three batters he faced reached base and scored, prompting coaches to call on Zachary Leigh (2-3).

The sophomore pitched well in earning the victory, giving up two runs on five hits in seven innings. Sherley got the save by pitching the ninth, his first appearance as a pitcher since high school.

Coming up

The Bobcats play a non-conference game at Texas on Tuesday. They finish with three on the road in the Sun Belt against UT-Arlington. The Sun Belt tournament is set for May 22-27 in Lafayette, Louisiana.