Jonesboro, AR – Contributed – Arkansas State closed out its home schedule on a difficult note over the weekend as Texas State completed a three-game Sun Belt Conference sweep at Tomlinson Stadium-Slayton Family Field.
The Bobcats took the opener 6-2 Friday night, followed with an 8-3 victory Saturday, and capped the series with a 15-9 win Sunday afternoon to send the Red Wolves to 28-22 overall and 11-16 in league play.
Texas State consistently struck early throughout the weekend, scoring 28 combined runs in the first three innings across the series and forcing Arkansas State to play from behind in all three contests.
Friday’s opener stayed tight into the late innings after Patrick Engskov blasted his ninth home run of the season to tie the game 2-2 in the fourth. But Texas State answered with two-out RBI hits in the fifth, seventh and ninth innings to pull away. Red Wolves starter Andrew Allen turned in a quality outing despite the loss, striking out seven over six innings while allowing three runs.
The Bobcats again wasted little time Saturday, exploding for five runs in the first inning and adding two more in the second to build a 7-0 cushion. Arkansas State responded in the fourth inning with back-to-back solo home runs from Derek Martinez and Lane Walton, while Ashton Quiller added a sacrifice fly to trim the deficit to four.
One bright spot for the Red Wolves came out of the bullpen, where Kole Turner delivered 7.1 strong innings of relief, allowing just three hits and one unearned run while striking out five without issuing a walk.
Sunday’s home finale turned into an offensive showcase, but Texas State again controlled the pace from the beginning. The Bobcats scored six runs in the opening two innings and later erupted for five more in the fifth, powered by three home runs.
Arkansas State continued to battle offensively throughout the afternoon. Derek Martinez drove in runs in both the third and seventh innings, while Evan Griffis homered and doubled as part of a three-RBI performance. Senior Jackson Illingworth provided a memorable moment in the eighth inning, launching a solo home run in his first at-bat of the season. Engskov added his 10th homer of the year later in the inning, a two-run shot to left-center.
Despite the late offensive push, Texas State added two insurance runs in the ninth to complete the sweep.
Engskov finished the weekend with two home runs, while Martinez, Griffis and Walton also went deep during the series. The Bobcats totaled 29 runs over the final two games and hit multiple home runs Sunday as they improved to 31-21 overall and 13-14 in conference play.
A-State faces in-state opponent Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The team closes out the Sun Belt regular season with a series at South Alabama starting Thursday.