Texas State (12-6) posted a 2-3 record at the Texas A&M Invitational last weekend. The Bobcats defeated Princeton and George Washington but lost poorly to No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 13 Texas Tech and Idaho State.
Here are three takeaways from what transpired over the weekend:
This team is young
Texas State head coach Ricci Woodard said it herself following the 6-0 loss to No. 13 Texas Tech last Saturday. Inexperience is part of the reason the Bobcats found themselves in a 6-0 hole two innings into that contest with the Red Raiders. Once everyone settled in, including Emma Strood, who pitched the entirety of the game, the Bobcats played evenly matched to that Texas Tech team.
The Bobcats have only two seniors on the roster, Ciara Trahan and Presley Glende. Although the squad has 10 juniors, only a few have seen valuable playing time, and three of them are new transfers who are still meshing with new teammates.
Roughly seven players who have seen the field regularly so far are underclassmen. Their little experience has shown in the early stages of the 2025 campaign.
The offense is still working itself out but should be fine
In the three losses, Texas State was outscored by its opponents 20-1. It’s easy to look at the score and assume the offense was non-existent, but this is one of the few times that is not the case.
The Bobcats struck out only 15 times over their five tournament games, including zero against No. 5 Texas A&M and one versus No. 13 Texas Tech. Seven of those strikeouts were in the 12-4 run rule victory over Princeton.
The Bobcats put the ball in play all weekend long and at least forced their opponents to make a play. Specifically, against the Red Raiders, multiple balls were hit hard, but unfortunately resulted in spectacular defensive plays.
The defense has got to figure it out
Maybe it was just an off-week for the Bobcats, but it’s a red flag anytime you commit 10 errors in three games.
In its first 13 games of the season, Texas State had only seven errors, which is still not ideal, but misplays and poor communication have stumped the Bobcats on the diamond thus far.
With conference play about two weeks away and many Sun Belt teams having offensive success, clean defense will be crucial in winning the games that matter most.
Next, Texas State will host a three-game home series against Missouri State (1-15). The series begins with a doubleheader on Friday at 4 p.m. and will be available to stream on ESPN+.
