Baseball | 2/25/2016 10:00:00 PM

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Texas State heads to Corpus Christi, Texas, for the Kleberg College Classic. At the tournament, hosted by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Whataburger Field, the Bobcats will start the weekend against Big 10 opponent Michigan State at 2 p.m. Friday, followed by UCF at 2 p.m. Saturday and TAMUCC at 3 p.m. Sunday.
 
The Kleberg College Classic is a storied tournament that has been around since 2006. In the 2007 and 2010 events, respectively, Rice and UCLA went 3-0 in the tournament and eventually advanced to the College World Series. In 2014, it was TCU going on to the College World Series and shortly thereafter ace Brandon Finnegan was in the World Series pitching for the Kansas City Royals.
 
Texas State also owns a small bit of history in the Kleberg College Classic as assistant coach Steven Trout was named to the All-Tournament Team in the inaugural tournament in 2006, playing first base. He hit two home runs in the tournament.
 
Game Info: Texas State (3-2) vs. Michigan State (3-0), UCF (5-0), at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (3-1)
Site: Whataburger Field – Corpus Christi, Texas
Date: Friday, Feb. 26 – Sunday, Feb. 28
Times: Friday - 2 p.m. | Saturday – 2 p.m. | Sunday – 3 p.m.
 
Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday vs. MSU: #21 RHP Lucas Humpal (1-0, 2.57) vs. #36 LHP Cam Vieaux (1-0, 1.80)
Saturday vs. UCF: #27 RHP Jeremy Hallonquist (1-0, 0.00) vs. #41 RHP Robby Howell (1-0, 0.00)
Sunday vs. TAMUCC: #34 LHP Jonathan Hennigan (0-0, 9.00) vs. #28 RHP David Worrell (1-0, 1.50)
 
On the Spartans
Michigan State heads to Texas after going 3-0 against Presbyterian, Furman and Fordham in the First Pitch Invitational in Greenville, S.C. In those three games, the Spartans scored a combined 33 runs while holding opponents to less than half that at 15 combined runs.
 
Texas State will face a powerful offense that is hitting .376 with 41 hits, 27 RBIs and 18 extra-base hits. Nine Spartans are hitting .300 or better in the opening weekend, led by Alex Troop and his .600 batting average with four doubles and three RBIs on six hits.
 
The Bobcats will face redshirt junior lefty Cam Vieaux who threw five strikeouts with no walks in five innings, only giving up one earned run on six hits. The team's pitching staff currently sits at a 3.00 ERA after putting together a 3.82 ERA all of last season.
 
On the Knights
Last year, UCF was ranked in the Top-25 for much of the season, climbing as high as sixth in the country. The Knights finished 2015 with a record of 31-27 and hit .294 as a team. This year, UCF has jumped out to an impressive 5-0 start with three wins over Siena and wins over Bethune-Cookman and North Florida.
 
Currently, nine Knights are hitting .333 or higher, led by Logan Heiser at .444 with eight hits, four RBIs and five runs. Kam Gellinger leads the Knights in RBIs with nine while Austin Griffin has seven and Matt Diorio and Matthew Mika both have six RBIs each.
 
The Bobcats will face junior righty Robby Howell, who hasn't let in a run in one appearance. He threw 5.2 innings with six strikeouts and no walks. He only gave up three hits on his way to a combined shutout.
 
On the Islanders
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is coming off a season in which the Islanders finished a game under .500 at 26-27 and 13-14 in the Southland Conference. This year, however, TAMUCC is 3-1 in the early going, dropping a game to Chicago State before winning two and beating Houston Baptist in the latest midweek.
 
As a squad, the Islanders are hitting .258 with just three players hitting above .300. Zacarias Hardy leads the team with eight hits, a home run, a double and four RBI on a .500 batting average. Austin Krajnak is hitting .357 while Brandon Guilford is hitting .400 in five at-bats.
 
Texas State will face David Worrell, a freshman with a 1.50 ERA. He went six innings in his season debut, giving up six hits and an earned run, but striking out five with no walks.
 
On the Bobcats
Texas State started the season with three impressive victories over Washington State. However, the Bobcats have dropped the last two games: a season finale vs. Washington State and a road game against national power Rice.
 
Offensively, the Bobcats are still on fire with five batters hitting .294 or better and a freshman leading the squad with eight hits. Jonathan Ortega is hitting .400 with a home run in his first career at-bat, two doubles and seven RBIs. Both Cody Lovejoy and Jared Huber have added five RBIs each while Nick Perez, Tanner Hill and Lovejoy each have six hits apiece.
 
The pitching staff has had a solid start to the season. Both Lucas Humpal and Jeremy Hallonquist picked up wins in their season debuts. Hallonquist did not allow a run in seven innings of work, only giving up four hits. Humpal struck out six with just one walk and two earned runs in his seven innings. Jonathan Hennigan will likely get the Sunday start, and he notched four strikeouts in five innings in his first game with the Bobcats.
 
A Look Ahead
After the Kleberg College Classic, the Bobcats will return home to host the Texas Longhorns Tuesday night at 6 p.m. The game can be seen on Time Warner Cable Sports Channel and has already been sold out, except for season tickets. Next weekend, Texas State will host Incarnate Word in the weekend series.