STATESBORO, Ga. – Thanks to the first use of video replay in Sun Belt Conference baseball history, Texas State’s Theodore Hoffman scored on an infield error in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Bobcats a pulsating 3-2 win over Little Rock in Thursday’s final first-round game in the Sun Belt Baseball Championships.
Hoffman, who had reached on a two-out single in the inning, broke from second on Luke Sherley’s infield single and was caught in a brief rundown between third and home. A throw from Little Rock shortstop Zach Baker got past catcher Kale Emshoff, but Emshoff threw to second baseman Christian Reyes covering the plate and Hoffman was called out by the plate umpire when he tried to slide through Reyes’ feet.
Texas State coach Ty Harrington asked for a replay, which is being used for the first time this year in the Sun Belt tournament. After a review, the call was reversed and Hoffman was called safe with what became the winning run.
That snapped a 2-2 tie, and Bobcat reliever Brayden Theriot (6-1) worked out of trouble in the top of the ninth to send the Bobcats (28-29) into Friday’s quarterfinal round.
The eighth-seeded Bobcats will face East Division champion and No. 1 seed Coastal Carolina in a 4 p.m. quarterfinal, with the winner of that game surviving to Saturday’s semifinals.
Theriot came on in relief of Bobcat starter Nicholas Fraze in the seventh inning after the ninth-seeded Trojans (21-34) had scored single runs in the fourth and sixth innings. He only allowed one hit, a two-out single to Dalton Thomas in the top of the ninth, but two infield errors and a walk gave Little Rock opportunities in each of the last three innings.
The Bobcats had taken a 1-0 lead off Little Rock starter Cory Malcom with three straight two-out singles from Jaylen Hubbard, Hoffman and Dylan Paul in the first inning, but Malcom allowed only one hit over the next six innings, and his teammates tied and took the lead with the single runs in the fourth and sixth.
Nik Gifford singled with one out, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Cameron Knight’s single to tie the game in the fourth. Two innings later, Gifford drew a leadoff walk from Fraze, stole second, moved to third on Knight’s infield single and scored on another wild pitch on an 0-2 pitch to give Little Rock a 2-1 lead.
Texas State got the equalizer against Malcom in the seventh, again on three straight two-out singles. Jacob Almendarez’ single to right field plated pinch runner Zacri Sanders after Travon Benton’s two-out single began the rally.
Hoffman bounced a single up the middle off reliever Justin Garcia (2-1) with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, and moved to second on a wild pitch. After Paul walked, Sherley bounced a high chopper in the hole that Baker was able to keep in the infield, and Baker caught Hoffman past third base and ran at him to create the rundown that resulted in the replay and the winning run.