Right-handed pitcher Shane Connell is scheduled to start on the mound against left-handed pitcher Kade Bing as Texas State baseball (12-15) heads to Austin to face No. 5 Texas (23-3) at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Tuesday.
The Bobcats dropped a three-game set to No. 21 Coastal Carolina last weekend in San Marcos, losing 7-0 on Friday, winning 1-0 on Saturday and dropping the Sunday finale 10-3. The Maroon and Gold also lost a midweek matchup to UTSA, 12-9, after sweeping Arkansas State at home the previous weekend.
The Longhorns jumped from No. 7 to No. 5 in D1Baseball’s Top 25 after a 13-3 victory against Sam Houston last Tuesday and a sweep of Missouri last weekend. Texas outscored Missouri 29-9 in three games.
Connell started against Incarnate Word last Wednesday, but the game was halted due to inclement weather. In 4 ⅔ innings out of the bullpen, Connell has posted a 9.64 ERA and struck out four. His mound opponent, Bing, sports a 3.93 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 18 ⅓ innings.
The Bobcats’ offense holds a .253/.344/.374 slashline. Ryne Farber is hitting .304 with a .410 OBP. Ian Collier has hit .339/.383/.482 in 56 at-bats.
Five Longhorn batters have an OPS over 1.000: Rylan Galvan (1.298), Max Belyeu (1.107), Ethan Mendoza (1.096), Will Gasparino (1.059) and Jalin Flores (1.021).
However, Texas will be without Belyeu, who will miss the remainder of the season due to a thumb injury.
Texas State won the season series against Texas 2-1 last year. The Longhorns lead the all-time series 56-16.
The first pitch between the Longhorns and Bobcats is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. The game will be available to stream on SEC Network+.
