Texas State men’s baseball lost 5-1 to the No. 25 Baylor Bears Wednesday at the Dell Diamond Stadium in Round Rock. 

It was the team’s first time at the field since it lost 9-6 against the Texas Longhorns in 2008.
The win propelled Baylor to 5-0 on the season and dropped the Bobcats to 2-2.

Coach Ty Harrington said this Baylor team was the best he has seen in two years.

“I was impressed with their pitching and their lineup, especially after playing (Texas Christian) last night,” he said.

The Bobcats were swinging the bat well coming into the game but were limited to one run on three hits by a quintet of Baylor pitchers. Texas State left seven runners on base.

Mitchell Pitts, senior pitcher, took the mound for his first start since claiming a victory in the 2011 Regional Tournament against Princeton. He allowed five earned runs on six hits and three walks with seven strikeouts in four and two-thirds innings.

With the first tournament of the season under its belt, the Texas State baseball team will look to continue a two-game winning streak as it travels to Dell Diamond Stadium in Round Rock to face Baylor.

The Bears are undefeated in the season with a 3-0 record.

“It’s going to be a good game,” Kyle Finnegan, sophomore pitcher, said. “Both teams are going to swing the bats well. Jeff McVaney, senior outfielder and closer, leads the team in hits with seven and RBI with four. Texas State is plus-six in runs scored for the season.

Finnegan, who boasts a 1.50 ERA after beating Louisiana-Lafayette, said he loves to see the kind of run support that was given in the team’s first tournament.

“It’s a lot easier to go out there on the mound when you get that kind of support from the guys at the plate,” Finnegan said.

The Texas State baseball team finally started the 2012 season after rain delays and game cancellations, finishing the CenturyLink Bobcat Invitational with a 2-1 record.

The first game was scheduled for Friday, but rain pushed it back to Saturday. After a three-hour delay the tarp was lifted from the field and the Bobcats took on Santa Clara for the first game of the season.

The reigning Southland Conference champion Texas State baseball team is primed and ready to kick off the 2012 season on Friday, at the first of a three-day tournament.

The Bobcats will face Santa Clara Friday, Wichita State Saturday and Louisiana-Lafayette Sunday.
Andrew Stumph, the team’s primary catcher, said he is eager to play competitively again after facing his teammates all offseason.

Despite the absence of one of its top players, Texas State tennis dominated the St. Edward’s Hilltoppers last weekend at home.

Senior Melissa Hadad sat out the tournament to stay below the NCAA maximum of matches played per year, but the Bobcats saw success without her, winning 6-1.

“I was a little nervous going into the match due to the fact that they were coming off of a win versus Midwestern, who was a ranked opponent,” Head Coach Tory Plunkett said. “And we were going in with a lineup that was different than normal.”

Francesca Bernes, freshman, filled in for Hadad in doubles play.

“Frankie played with [Jessica Kahts], and it worked out really well because they knew and had played each other before,” Plunkett said. “Jessica was able to help out Frankie in that number one spot.”

Plunkett said it was good to know she can pull anyone, rearrange lineups and still remain competitive.

Fresh off of a 7-0 victory at Grambling State for the first victory of the season, the Texas State women’s tennis team looks to pass the .500 mark this weekend with a win over the St. Edward’s Hilltoppers.

The Bobcats scrimmaged St. Edward’s in the fall and amassed an impressive victory. This time, however, the team will be without one of its top players, Melissa Hadad.

Hadad was pulled from the match because the NCAA only allows an athlete to compete 25 times per season. This is a total the senior would surpass at her current rate, according to Head Coach Tory Plunkett

“Meli and (Jessica) Kahts both qualified and played in an extra tournament in the fall, so that put them over the allowed amount of days,” she said.

Plunkett said she still feels confident the team will perform well, due to their success in the scrimmage match earlier in the season.

Tennis players come from all over the world, and the Texas State women’s team athletes are no different. Seven of the eight current players for the Bobcats were not born in the United States, and these athletes have led the program to some of its most successful years.

However, the region in which Texas State finds these players may change because of new, higher standards for the Test of English as a Foreign Language, an exam given to international students seeking an education at an American university. 

Potential students must make a certain score on the exam to receive eligibility to attend college courses. Those who score below the required mark are allowed to take remedial courses through a bridge system like the Texas State Intensive English program.

The Texas State tennis team was successful in its dual match play this weekend, notching its first team win of the season.

The Bobcats walked away with a 7-0 victory against Grambling State bringing their overall record to 1-1.

Every Texas State singles and doubles player won their match. Jessica Kahts went 6-0, 6-0 in the number one seed match and Mariana Perez and Berenice Van Den Bergh walked away with out a losing a single point in doubles play.

Plunkett said she enjoyed her team’s play but was especially impressed with her freshman, Rachel Baldree.

“She is playing around two or three positions and is playing them really well,” Plunkett said. “I find that she is really crafty and just does whatever it takes to win. It may not be the prettiest thing in the world but the bottom line is that she gets it done.”

Wesley Davis, freshman guard, moves the ball forward against the UT-Arlington Mavericks Jan 28. at Strahan Coliseum. The Bobcats were defeated 82-79.

Texas State men’s basketball had three players foul-out at home Saturday against Texas-Arlington, a major factor in their eventual loss. The team was unable to keep the Mavericks from extending its school-record winning streak to 11 games even with four players scoring double digits for Texas State.

The Bobcats kept a four-point lead with 1:11 left in the game until turnovers, fouls and a thin roster allowed UTA to steal an 82-79 victory.

Texas State tennis will begin its regular spring season this Saturday against the two-time Mountain West Conference Champion Texas Christian. 

The Bobcats are coming off their best collective fall season under Coach Tory Plunkett and hope to get off to a rolling start against the Horned Frogs.

Plunkett said TCU played “dirty ball” the last time the teams met by standing directly behind the net when receiving the serve. This would be in an attempt to intimidate the other team, force a certain serve or try to make the other team double fault.

“TCU is a good enough team to where they don’t have to do that,” she said. “This specific doubles team is best in the region. So for them to turn around and play with unsportsmanlike conduct is unnecessary.”

Plunkett said she was surprised by the lack of respect, considering TCU is her Alma Mater and she is in the Horned Frogs Hall of Fame for women’s tennis.