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SAN MARCOS – Texas State continues the team's seven-game road swing with a midweek game at No. 12 Texas Tuesday night at 6 p.m.
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Game Info: Texas State (15-8) at No. 12 Texas (19-6)
Site: UFCU Disch-Falk Field – Austin, Texas
Date: Tuesday, March 25
Time: 6 p.m.
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Probable Pitching Matchups
Tuesday: #19 LHP
Tyler Davenport (0-1, 3.68) vs. #34 RHP Lukas Schiraldi (3-1, 2.77)
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The Series                                                                                                 Â
Texas has an overwhelming advantage in the all-time series, 39-9, and Texas State Head Coach
Ty Harrington has gone 5-25 against the Longhorns. Texas has won the last 18 games against Texas State, but the Bobcats were close in the last meeting, a home game at Bobcat Ballpark.
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The Longhorns went up 3-0 after a leadoff home run and two runs in the second, but the Bobcats bounced back to tie the game in the third. After that, UT scored on a sacrifice fly for the one-run lead in the fourth. Then both teams played scoreless baseball until the Longhorns added two more insurance runs in the ninth to win 6-3 back on March 11.
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On the Longhorns
The Longhorns are pitching one of their top arms against Texas State, righty Lukas Schiraldi. Schiraldi has earned a 3-1 record in five appearances, all starts. The junior boasts just a 2.77 ERA and the entire pitching staff has only allowed one home run on the season. Opponents are hitting .221 against the Longhorns while Texas posts a mere 1.91 ERA with five shutouts this year.
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Outfielder Mark Payton leads the bats with a .405 average that includes 10 extra-base hits (four doubles, five triples and a home run). He has hit 16 RBI and scored 14 times on 34 hits while slugging .607 with a .528 on-base percentage. After him, Collin Shaw bats .326. No other Longhorn is above .300 on the season.
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On the Bobcats
Texas State is coming off a confidence-building weekend with two wins at Western Kentucky. The Bobcats capped the final day with three home runs to clinch the series.
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Freshman
Granger Studdard continues to hit well for the Bobcats. In the last 10 games he leads the team in batting average (.382), slugging percentage (.647), on-base percentage (.512), hits (13), home runs (3), total bases (22) and hits by pitch (4).
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Sophomore
Matt Smith has come on strong at second base as well. Against Western Kentucky, he led off all three games and proved to be dangerous, finishing with a .375 batting average with four runs scored and an on-base percentage of .500.
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Tyler Davenport gets the starting nod against Texas. He last pitched on March 14 against UT Arlington, but started at Rice and went 3.1 innings against Wagner. He has seven appearances on the season with 11 strikeouts and seven walks.
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A Look Ahead
After Texas, the Bobcats will look to continue to roll through Sun Belt Conference play with a road series at Arkansas State before returning home to host UTSA in a TV game April 1 at 6:35 p.m.