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SAN MARCOS – Texas State will host UT Arlington on the opening weekend of Sun Belt Conference action.
 
Game Info: Texas State (10-6) vs. UT Arlington (5-11)
Site: Bobcat Ballpark – San Marcos, Texas
Date: Friday-Sunday, March 14-16
Time: Friday – 6:30 p.m. | Saturday – 3 p.m. | Sunday – 1 p.m.
 
Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday: #32 RHP Taylor Black (1-2, 3.51) vs. #11 RHP Jess Amedee (1-2, 5.32)
Saturday: #31 RHP Austen Williams (2-0, 2.39) vs. #21 RHP Brad Vachon (1-4, 4.66)
Sunday: #21 RHP Lucas Humpal (1-0, 4.01) vs. #32 RHP Zach Thompson (1-2, 5.66)
 
The Series                                                                                                  
Texas State owns the all-time series advantage at 54-40, and the Bobcats picked up the last victory in the series at last year's Western Athletic Conference Tournament. With no chance of advancing in the tournament, the Bobcats dominated UT Arlington, still in play for the championship, by a score of 11-2. Colby Targun and Kevin Sah both scored three runs on three hits with two RBI each, one of which came on an inside-the-park homer from Sah. Garrett Mattlage knocked a team-high three RBI in the game while Mitchell Pitts earned the win in his final collegiate performance.
 
Head Coach Ty Harrington is 33-15 against the Mavericks and but last beat UT Arlington in San Marcos back on May 22, 2010.
 
On the Mavericks
UT Arlington is only 5-11 on the season but has taken on tough teams like Baylor, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas A&M, Utah and Oklahoma in the non-conference slate. Last game, UTA went to the 10^th inning with Oklahoma, just falling, 3-2. The Mavericks split two games with Utah and fell to Texas A&M, Baylor and Oklahoma State but beat TCU, 10-2.
 
The team's best hitter is designated hitter Matt Shortall, batting .364 with 28 hits, 15 RBI, nine extra-base hits, a home run and 11 rns scored. His on-base percentage is .398 and he is slugging .532. The senior is coming off a season in which he was named to the All-Western Athletic Conference First Team and is tied for second in the SBC in batting average and is first in hits. He is tied for third in RBI and ranks eighth in slugging percentage.
 
UT Arlington's third baseman is Travis Sibley, younger brother of former Bobcat Tyler Sibley. Sibley hit .313 with five hits in four games against the Bobcats last season to be third on the UTA squad. The Bobcats will also have to be ready for Derek Miller (.348) and Peter Cuomo (.326).
 
Jess Amedee, Brad Vachon and Zach Thompson are the likely starters the Bobcat bats will face. Vachon has the best ERA of the trio at 4.66. As a group, the three righties have struck out 58 batters with 34 walks. Vachon is allowing opponents a .267 batting average while Amedee allows a .299. Thompson is letting opponents hit .313 on him so far this season.
 
On the Bobcats
For the Bobcats, Tyler Pearson still leads the effort at the plate with a .346 average, 18 hits and three homers to lead the team in all three categories. He also leads in slugging percentage (.558) and on-base percentage (.452).
 
Tanner Hill, however, leads the team in RBI with 11 while Garrett Mattlage has 10 on the year, including his four in a grand slam in the series finale against Wagner. Mattlage and David Paiz are next on the list in hits with 17 each while Granger Studdard, Hill and Colby Targun each have 12.
 
Targun had knocked a base hit in 11 consecutive games until Texas snapped his streak Tuesday. He did still pick up an RBI with a bases loaded walk against the Longhorns.
 
The Bobcats trot out one of the best starting rotations in the Sun Belt Conference. No pitcher has notched more strikeouts in a game than Lucas Humpal's 13 against UC Riverside and all three pitchers are ranked in innings pitched and batters struck out. Humpal is tied for third in strikeouts while Austen Williams and Taylor Black are fifth and sixth respectively in the conference.
 
In addition to Texas State's starters, closer Hunter Lemke is first in the SBC in appearances, tied for first in wins with three and tied for second in saves with four.
 
A Look Ahead
Next on the docket for Texas State is a home game against No. 15 Rice at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Bobcats lost, 4-3, in extra innings at Rice when the Owls were ranked 11^th back on Feb. 18. After that, Texas State will continue conference play with a road series against Western Kentucky. The Bobcats won't return home after the Rice game until Tuesday, April 1, for an installment of the I-35 Rivalry against UTSA.