Getting the ball in the strike zone was difficult for the Toppers Saturday as they threw 12 walks in a 13-4 loss to Texas State.

The pitching staff had a tough day, giving up 11 hits and allowed the second most runs this season.

Senior Austin Clay started the game but was unable to match his teammates senior Justin Hageman’s performance friday. Clay pitched five innings giving up eight hits and six earned runs. It was the most runs Clay has given up this year but he also tied a career high in strikeouts.

The WKU bullpen, which has been a weak spot so far this year, wasn’t much better — the bullpen gave up a combined six runs. They also couldn’t throw strikes as they gave up eight of the 12 walks. In the ninth inning, the Bobcats didn’t record a hit but still managed to score three runs off of five walks.

“They did a nice job capitalizing on us, we made it very easy for them,” coach Matt Myers said. “We weren’t good enough to win the game, they were. The good thing is we won Friday and have a chance to win the series and that’s our goal.”

The second game of three of this weekend series was plagued with quiet bats for the WKU baseball team early as the Toppers only managed five hits in the game. At one point in the fourth inning, WKU had more runs (two) than hits (one). They did manage to get the leadoff batter on five times and were able to score in four of those innings.

The sixth inning is about the only bright spot for the Toppers as they scored two runs off of a RBI single from senior Regan Flaherty and a RBI double from freshman Hunter Wood. Wood went 2-4 with two RBIs.

The Bobcats started early as they scored one in the first and four in the second. A very impatient team put the ball in play six times on the first pitch in the first two innings and with good result. A double by Garett Mattlage hit a two run double to left center to extend the Bobcats lead.

Texas State really took control in the sixth and seventh innings. In the sixth, the Bobcats loaded the bases with no outs and score three runs on three hits. They extended their lead to 8-2 and took the gas out of any momentum WKU had before that.

After that the Bobcats tacked on two more in the seventh after a single and two walks loaded the bases for Mattlage’s two run single. He finished 4-5 with seven RBI’s. 

Tag on three in the ninth sealed the 10th loss of the season for WKU.

The final game of the series will be played sunday at 1 p.m. at Nick Denes Field.