Texas State completed the sweep of Binghamton, beating the Bearcats 7-4 to win the third game of the three-game series.
The Bobcats and Head Coach Steven Trout are 3-0 for the season.
“It's huge. You have win every game, right?,” Trout said. ”When you look up in May and you're trying to build a resume for the postseason tournament, sometimes a Sunday game in February is the one that leaves you out. You have to find a way to go to and sweep a team where you can and go win the series. Those Sundays are really important and anytime you get off to a 3-0 startit as good as it gets.”
Sophomore centerfielder Ethan Farris got the offense rolling to start the scoring attack, hitting an RBI single down the left field line and putting the Bobcats up 1-0.
In the fourth inning, the Bobcats were down two outs in the at-bat.
Freshman second baseman Dawson Park reached second base on a Bearcat fielding error before catcher Theo Kummer scored Park on an RBI double in right center field.
Sophomore shortstop Ryne Farber was hit by the pitch while junior third baseman Chase Mora forced a walk to load up the bases.
Freshman left fielder Zachary Gingrich connected with a two-run RBI single in right field to score both Kummer and Farber, extending the lead to 4-0.
After a Binghamton pitching change, Farris connected with a two-run RBI triple to score Mora and Gingrich, pushing the lead to 6-0.
“I was ready for a heater,” Farris said “He gave me a heater and I was just trying to hit it right back at him and ended up going pretty well.”
Senior pinch hitter Ian Collier scored Farris on an RBI single as Texas State ended the bottom of the fourth inning up 7-0.
“On a day like today, when the wind's blown in, [you] take nothing for granted,” Trout said. “The biggest thing is we want to be relentless with the offense. When we had the opportunity to finish the game or keep them going, that's what we did. We have to get better after the inning by scoring more runs and not being complacent with seven runs. But they did a good job of piecing up some good at bats when it matters most.”
Binghamton scored four unanswered runs after the fourth inning but were unable to complete the comeback.
Starting pitcher Austin Easton earned his first win of the season after playing designated hitter for the past two games. The senior pitched six innings while allowing just five hits, one earned run, one walk and striking out three batters.
“It was a little cold but I felt pretty good,” Eaton said. “I did a good job warming up, getting the layers on warming up and then feeling good the whole time.”
Trout was not only proud of Eaton but for the rest of the bullpen as well.
“Austin Eaton did a really good job,” Trout said. “It’s exactly [what we ] wanted him to be on a Sunday, especially with the wind blowing in, and then just pounding the strike zone. He's hard to hit in general, but especially with this wind, the cold, uh, that fastball boring in on you, he was really good.
“We knew our bullpen was not exactly what we had the last couple days with those guys down. We were gonna go three days in a row with them so some guys stepped up. It wasn't completely perfect, but they found a way to get it done, which is the most important.”
Texas State returns to play Tuesday night in a showdown against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Globe Field in Arlington. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
