Mizzou Baseball Gameday: Texas State Bobcats

■ The Texas State Bobcats have been having a great year . . . on the weekends. 15-2 on the weekends (losses to Missouri State and Lamar) and 1-4 mid-week. To be fair, their mid-week schedule has been pretty tough: a 1-1 split with Baylor, plus losses to Rice, Texas and TCU. they have not played more than 1 mid-week game per week as yet in 2011, and this week is no different, with MU being their only game.

As of Tuesday, 3/29, Texas State is ranked 14th in RPI and 13th in ISR with the 33rd-ranked Strength of Schedule, according to BoydsWorld.com

■ Lamar hands State first SLC loss (San Marcos Record, March 27)

Texas State was dealt its first conference defeat of the season on Saturday afternoon as the Lamar came back from one-run deficit in the seventh inning to take a 7-6 victory over the Bobcats at Vincent-Beck Stadium.

Texas State, which began the Southland Conference season with seven consecutive wins, fell to 7-1 in conference play and 6-6 overall, while the Cardinals improved to 17-9 overall and 6-2 in the SLC.

■ State upends Houston twice (San Marcos Record)

“So what? Next pitch,” aren’t just four words printed on a white sheet of paper posted in Texas State’s dugout.

It’s a way of life for the Bobcats.

Texas State didn’t worry when it was down 11 runs with six outs remaining against the University of Houston. The Bobcats fought.

Then, with one swing of Casey Kalenkosky’s bat, Texas State helped everyone forget about a dismal performance by its pitching staff. Kalenkosky’s three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth propelled the Bobcats to a 17-15 victory Saturday afternoon.

■ Texas State (collegebaseballtoday.com)

Bobcats score 13 runs in the 8th and 9th innings combined to pull off what Ralph Wiggum would call “unpossible!”

Houston led TSU by a comfy 15-4 margin going into the bottom of the 8th inning. Seven hits and eight runs later, the Bobcats had pulled to within 15-12 (thanks to a three-run bomb by Casey Kalenkosky). Then, after a scoreless Cougar 9th frame, the Bobcats kept the race track hot, scoring five more runs in the bottom of the 9th to hand Houston a crushing defeat. Oh, and before I forget, Kalenkosky provided another three-run dinger to put the game on ice in jog-off fashion.

■ Bobcats score thrilling sweep at Houston (San Marcos Local News, March 14)

The Bobcats won three thrillers, one by dominant starting pitching and the next two by walk-off homers. The Bobcats won 2-1 last Friday, 17-15 on Saturday and 11-10 on Sunday.

Texas State starter Carson Smith shut down Houston in the opener, striking out 10 in seven innings. Tyler Sibley hit a two-run inside-the-park homer to account for both Texas State runs.

The proceedings on Saturday were a bit less restrained, as the two teams combined for 45 hits. More important, the Bobcats turned a hopeless situation into victory, trailing 15-4 when they went to bat in the eighth and rallying to win the game.

■ State rolls Baylor in Waco (San Marcos Daily Record, March 2)

Good hitting, strong pitching and stingy defense.

Texas State displayed all three of the winning fundamentals Tuesday night in a 13-2 win over No. 16 Baylor at Baylor Ballpark.

The Bobcats racked up 16 hits, limited the Bears to only two runs on six hits and played solid defense in the infield, scoring their fourth consecutive win and first against a ranked foe this season.