Taking the early spring baseball season by storm, the Texas State Bobcats (12-3) will attempt to play spoiler as they host the incoming No. 2 Texas Longhorns (15-0) Tuesday evening at Bobcat Ballpark.
The Bobcats have been a dominating force at home to start the season, commanding a 9-2 home record with impressive wins against nationally-ranked UTSA and future Pac-12 foes in Gonzaga and Washington State, of whom they took three of four games from the Cougars over this past weekend.
“Well obviously I’d like to be undefeated,” Trout said. “But, to me it’s just about playing quality baseball. And I think that’s what we have played to this point.”
Hitting has been the hallmark of head coach Steven Trout’s squad, smashing opponents for a .491% slugging percentage with 19 home runs and a .904 OPS as a team so far.
The Bobcats have outscored their opponents 111-64 and have done so off the bats of impressive freshman, featuring outfielders Jackson Cotton and Tanner Carson, along with catcher Clayton Namken, who combine to average .291 from the plate with 26 RBI and 59 total bases.
Pitching was one of the desprate needs of a revamp the Bobcats needed since last season. In 2026, the Bobcats find themselves one of the better teams on the mound in the Sun Belt Conference, topping the league in walks allowed and in the top three in both Strikeouts and opponent batting average as a staff.
Trout has had four pitchers serve as starters so far this year, with the projected starter to be freshman Titan Targac in his first collegiate start. The pitcher out of Flatonia has been utilized in the bullpen so far to start the year, with nine innings under his belt that features one save and 11 strikeouts while giving up 10 hits and eight earned runs.
His most recent appearance came on March 6, against the Cougars, as he pitched just 1/3 of an inning while giving up three earned runs on three walks and a hit.
On the opposite side, the burnt orange are just one of two teams to be undefeated across college baseball. While this will be their first true road test of the season, their offense boasts a collection of MLB-caliber talent, including junior infielder Ethan Mendoza, who’s batting a .356 average with 14 RBI, good for an OPS of 1.045.
On the mound facing Targac is freshman Sam Cozart, the defending SEC Freshman of the Week recipient. Cozart has made two starts in three apperances, most recently a five inning performance against Houston Christian as he gave up a lone run while striking out six on one hit.
This will be the first of two games the two programs will play against each other this season, with the Bobcats set to head to Austin at the end of March.
The two have also split their games on the road each since 2022, as the Bobcats have won four straight in Austin while the Longhorns have taken the last three, most prominently in last season’s 14-11 slugfest in San Marcos.
In what will be a major test for Texas State, first pitch is slated for 6 p.m. on March 9, at Bobcat Ballpark. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
