Cowboys bow to Texas State by 8-2 score :: Still in running for post season but needs to win remaining five games

May 9, 2008

Texas State put a big dent in McNeese State's making the Southland Conference post season baseball tournament with an 8-2 victory here Friday.

The Bobcats, who snapped a five game losing streak of their own with the win, held a 4-0 lead after six innings and then outscored the Cowboys 4-2 the rest of the way.

Even though taking a loss, McNeese is not eliminated from the SLC post season yet. Southeastern Louisiana, the team in eighth place in the league standings, also got beat on Friday, bowing to Sam Houston State by a 9-4 score.

The Cowboys trail Southeastern by four games with five left. They need to win all five with the Lions losing all five to make the post season. McNeese is now 7-18 in the SLC and 13-37 overall.

In the loss to Texas State, Cowboy starter Tyler Davis went six innings but gave up seven hits and six runs (four earned). Todd Fontenot came on to pitch 2.1 innings and gave up two hits and two runs.

Mike Hart earned the pitching victory for Texas State, lifting his record to 5-3. He hurled 7.2 innings giving up five hits and two runs.

The expected hitting duel between McNeese's Taylor Freeman and Texas State's Paul Goldschmidt - the league's top two hitters - never materialized. Freeman did not get a hit in the game while Goldschmidt went two for four with a RBI and a home run, his 16th of the season.

The Bobcats, who are now 25-23 overall and 15-10 in league play, also got home runs from Lance Loftin and Jason Martinson.

McNeese's top hitters in the game were Mace Hebert with two and Justin Beitzel with two.

The Cowboys two runs in the eighth inning came with Beitzel singling, going to second on a walk, to third on a fielder's choice and scoring on a throwing error. The other run was scored by Kanon Broussard who scored on a bases loaded walk to Freeman.

Texas State scored on a passed ball in the first inning, on Goldschmidt's home run in the fifth, on a two run homer by Martinson in the sixth, on a two run home run by Loftin in the seventh and on a two run single by Aaron Fuller in the ninth inning.

The two teams play another game at 3 p.m. on Saturday and one at 1 p.m. on Sunday.