Texas State baseball (26-26, 12-15 Sun Belt Conference) picked up a top-25 series victory after taking two out of three games from No. 21 Troy University. (35-18, 17-10 Sun Belt Conference). The Bobcats have won back-to-back series to keep themselves alive in the chase to make the Sun Belt tournament.

Here are three takeaways from the series win. 

Texas State is still a good team

Despite the .500 record, the Bobcats can beat anyone on any given day. Series wins like the one over Troy aren’t a fluke, and the Bobcats have the track record to prove that.

Victories over programs like Texas and Houston, along with hard-fought competitive games against LSU and TCU, have shown that Texas State can compete with any team at any time. The series victory over the Trojans only further solidified that notion.

When they pitch well, they win

The Bobcats’ constant issue throughout the season has seemed to be the pitching staff. With a team ERA of 5.14, the staff has been inconsistent and has played the Bobcats out of numerous games this season.

That was just the case in the one game they dropped this past weekend, as walks and passed balls all but handed Troy game two. But overall, the pitching staff had a strong weekend, limiting the Trojans to nine runs across three games. The offense tends to do enough to win ball games, so when the staff is on, the Bobcats are hard to beat.

They could be getting hot at the right time

The Bobcats found themselves in unfamiliar territory this season, in danger of missing the conference tournament. But these last two weekends have been massive for Texas State’s tournament hopes, as they have beaten the third and fifth-ranked teams in the Sun Belt, respectively. 

Looking ahead to the last regular-season series against scorching-hot Southern Miss, it was pivotal for the Bobcats to be playing well, and there is no telling just how important the Troy series was for the team’s confidence.

Nearly every coach says the same thing: you want to be playing your best at the end of the season. The Bobcats look like they’re following those instructions right now.