WKU held a 3-0 lead through its half of the ninth inning and was three outs away from shutting out Texas State in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at Stanky Field in Mobile, Ala. 

Texas State capitalized off miscues from the mound to win it in 10 innings, 4-3 off of Cody Lovejoy’s sacrifice fly. 

The Toppers (29-27) will have one opportunity at redemption in an elimination game Thursday at 9:00 a.m. (CT) against the loser of Wednesday afternoon’s game between No. 1 Louisiana-Lafayette and No. 8 Louisiana-Monroe.

Justin Hageman pitched eight scoreless innings, giving up only three hits while throwing six strikeouts. 

The consistent pitching unraveled in the ninth and 10th innings, as relievers Ian Tompkins, Sam Higgs and Brennan Pearson combined to give up four runs on three hits and three walks.