Texas State baseball (13-15) is set to travel to Lafayette, Louisiana this weekend to take on the University of Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (15-16). The Cajuns have been a constant thorn in the side of the Bobcats recently, as Texas State dropped its last nine meetings with Louisiana. Overall, Louisiana leads the all-time series 33-21.
For two teams that have had disappointing starts to the season, this series will go a long way in shaping what the rest of the year will look like.
Texas State has already announced its weekend rotation. Alex Valentin is scheduled for Friday night, Jesus Tovar for Saturday and Jackson Teer for Sunday. While there has been no official rotation released by the Cajuns, if it follows last weekend, here’s what the pitching matchups will look like.
Friday: Alex Valentin (4-1) vs. Chase Morgan (2-1)
Friday night should pit Valentin and Morgan against each other in a battle of the lefties. Valentin, originally a long reliever when the season started, now holds a 4-1 record with a 3.79 ERA through his eight outings this season. Valentin is having what can really only be described as a “viral season,” making waves with his antics on the mound and gutsy performances against Texas and Texas A&M.
Morgan, a Perfect Game Preseason All-American, was Louisiana’s opening-day starter and has held down the Friday night spot all season. Morgan has started five games and boasts a 2.52 ERA. In his last outing, Morgan worked seven strong innings, allowing two runs on five hits. He appears to be a tough challenge waiting for the Bobcats.
Saturday: Jesus Tovar (0-2) vs. Andrew Hermann (2-2)
Tovar made a splash in his first two starts with the Bobcats, turning in two gritty midweek performances against Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. Since then, Tovar has been a steady presence in the Bobcats rotation. Tovar carries a 4.71 ERA but is coming off of an outing against Coastal Carolina in which he was masterful. Holding the high-powered Chanticleer offense to only three hits in seven innings and not surrendering a single run.
Hermann has made nine appearances in 2025 and carries a 5.29 ERA into the weekend against the Bobcats. In his first start of the season against Nebraska, Hermann threw a 117-pitch complete game, only giving up two runs on five hits. Since then however, Hermann has eclipsed the five-inning mark only once. Hermann is coming off a win against James Madison in which he threw 3 ⅔ innings, allowing four runs on five hits.
Sunday: Jackson Teer (1-5) vs. JR Tollett (3-2)
Teer was the 2024 D3 Player of the Year but has struggled to find similar success at the D1 level. Teer earned the nod from Texas State head coach Steven Trout and made the opening-day start for the Bobcats. Teer looked good on opening day but has failed to be consistent since. The flashes and talent are there, and when Teer puts it together, he can have an outing like he did against Arkansas State where he tossed 7.0 innings of two-hit baseball, by far his best outing of the season.
Tollett has been as good as any pitcher in the country recently, as he has thrown 15 consecutive scoreless innings across his last two starts, including a complete game, four-hit shutout of James Madison in his last appearance. Tollett will look to keep his scoreless streak alive against the Bobcats on Sunday.
On offense, the Bobcats are led by Ryne Farber. Farber is hitting .305 through 105 at-bats this season and is the only qualified hitter on the roster with an average above .300. As a team, the Bobcats are batting .248, a less-than-ideal number for winning ball games.
Much like the Bobcats, the Cajuns only have one qualified batter above .300 on the year. Connor Higgs is leading the charge for Louisiana at the plate, batting .356 with a team-leading 10 home runs and 21 RBI. The Cajuns are slightly better at the plate than the Bobcats, batting .254 as a team. But that is still a far cry from the explosiveness the Cajuns have shown in recent seasons.
