In a season of slumps and struggles, the Texas State baseball team has had to fight its way back into games after falling behind in early innings. Remarkably, Texas State has come from behind in about 66% of its wins this season.
‘Rebound ball’ has been the Bobcats’ mantra so far. The team’s inability to get ahead early or keep leads has held the Bobcats back from winning ways.
“Every game is going to be challenging,” Texas State Head Coach Steven Trout said. “So, after a stretch like this, the goal is to just show up and play better baseball. That’s the main goal for us.”
The term ‘rebound ball’ has been recited to the team as an alternative way to look at games that could otherwise be seen as failures in execution or readiness. As the Bobcats pivot their outlook to one of objectivity rather than condemning themselves, they hope to bounce themselves into a trend of winning like the team saw last season.
Winning and losing have come in spurts for the Bobcats as they have faced losing streaks of three, four and five this season. The only two other losses were rebounded with a win in the next game. The Bobcats have also been on winning streaks of up to four games.
The 2024 season has been up and down throughout. 10 out of 14 losses for the Bobcats have been decided by three runs or less, and only five of the team’s 15 wins have been decided by three runs or less. It’s evident, when the team wins, they put on a show, but when it’s not their day they have trouble adjusting.
A question still in need of a solution is the pitching staff. Texas State pitchers have allowed over 150 runs thus far. This is on-par with the average team ERA of 5.31, which ranks 97th in the nation.
The Bobcats aren’t just rebounding off allowing early runs, though, as two key players have been out with injuries.
The recent absences of freshman outfielder Ryne Farber and senior pitcher Jack Stroud. With both Farber and Stroud only getting better as the season went on, their absence has left an unfilled void in the lineup.
