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SAN MARCOS – Texas State takes to the road again for a Sun Belt Conference series at UL Monroe. It marks the first time the teams have faced off since 2005, despite having played each other 61 times in the all-time series dating back to their days in the Southland Conference.
 
Game Info: Texas State (18-14, 7-5 SBC) at UL Monroe (14-21, 5-7 SBC)
Site: Warhawk Field – Monroe, La.
Date: Friday-Sunday, April 11-13
Time: Friday – 6 p.m. | Saturday – 6 p.m. | Sunday – 1 p.m.
 
Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday: #31 RHP Austen Williams (4-1, 2.75) vs. #16 RHP Alex Hermeling (1-3, 4.54)
Saturday: #32 RHP Taylor Black (2-3, 2.73) vs. #30 LHP Chad Miller (2-1, 4.29)
Sunday: #21 RHP Lucas Humpal (2-2, 3.67) vs. TBA
 
The Series
Texas State and UL Monroe have met up 61 times with the Bobcats holding a 33-28 edge. They last faced each other in 2005, a 9-2 victory for Texas State in Louisiana. The Bobcats have won two in a row against the Warhawks with ULM taking the first game of that 2005 series. Former Southland Conference foes, the Bobcats rebounded from a 5-3 loss in the 2005 series opener with a 6-5 victory on Saturday and an impressive 9-2 win on Sunday.
 
On the Warhawks
UL Monroe has gone through a little bit of adversity this season. New head coach Bruce Peddle just took over 11 games ago for the Warhawks. While ULM is 14-21 on the season, they have played well for Peddle, starting out 6-5 under his leadership.
 
In conference play, Keelin Rasch has been on fire for the Warhawks, batting .432 with three doubles, a triple, a home run and 10 RBI on 19 hits. He's scored seven times in conference play. For the season, however, he is hitting .284. In conference, he has been joined by Justin Stawychny (.326) who has scored nine runs with three homers, a triple and three doubles for 12 RBI on 15 hits. Dalton Herrington has added three more homers and eight RBI, scoring 10 times on 13 hits in conference play.
 
UL Monroe looks to be a team building confidence under new leadership.
 
While the Warhawks have left their Sunday starter to be announced, the Bobcats know they will face Alex Hermeling on Friday and Chad Miller on Saturday. Both own earned run averages above 4.00 while Hermeling has been susceptible to walking batters with 21 on the season.
 
On the Bobcats
Texas State pitching continues to lead the charge for the Bobcats. This weekend, however, Texas State will change it up a bit. Austen Williams, who started out the season as a Sunday starter and moved into the Saturday slot, will take over on Friday. The Bobcats will pitch Taylor Black on Saturday and Lucas Humpal will stay in his Sunday slot in which he's spent most of the season.
 
The trio is likely the best group of pitchers in the Sun Belt Conference. The staff as a whole is third in the conference in ERA, fourth in opposing batting average and first in strikeouts. Black is fourth in ERA while Williams is fifth. Both are ranked in the top 10 in opposing batting average while all three are ranked in the top 10 in strikeouts with Williams leading the conference. Black is in third.
 
Texas State's bats will have to pop this weekend as the Bobcats will likely go without David Paiz or Tyler Pearson due to injuries. However, Austin O'Neal and Ben McElroy have stepped up as of late to fill holes in the lineup. McElroy, in fact, leads the Bobcats in the last 10 games in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, doubles, triples, home runs, total bases and is second in hits, averaging a hit per game.
 
A Look Ahead
Texas State will head to San Antonio for a rematch against UTSA in this week's midweek at 6 p.m. Tuesday. After that, the Bobcats will host Georgia State in a conference series over Easter weekend.