Baseball | 3/11/2016 7:47:00 PM

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State though it was going to have to open Sun Belt Conference action on the road in 2016, but, due to inclement weather across the southeast, the Bobcats will host UL Monroe this weekend to open conference play. Texas State and the Warhawks will play a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. followed by a single game at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
 
Game Info: Texas State vs. UL Monroe
Site: Bobcat Ballpark – San Marcos, Texas
Date: Saturday, March 12 – Sunday, March 13
Time: Saturday – 1 p.m. | Saturday – approx. 5 p.m. | Sunday – 2 p.m.
 
Probable Pitching Matchup
#21 RHP Lucas Humpal (2-1, 1.96) vs. #21 RHP Chris Hunt (1-0, 4.82)
#27 RHP Jeremy Hallonquist (1-0, 0.00) vs. #33 RHP Brayden Bouchey (2-0, 3.31)
#34 LHP Jonathan Hennigan (2-0, 3.38) vs. #35 RHP Keegan Curtis (0-1, 10.12)
 
The Series                                                                                                  
Texas State and UL Monroe have played a series with a long history, and the Bobcats are currently on top, 37-31. The Warhawks one the most recent game, but it was the last game of a three-game series in which the Bobcats took the first two games. In his career, Head Coach Ty Harrington is 12-15 all-time against ULM.
 
The Bobcats won the Friday game in last season's series, 4-3, then split a Saturday doubleheader with a 5-1 win and a 7-4 loss. Colby Targun, a senior last season, led the team against ULM with a .500 batting average. Granger Studdard hit .364 while Tanner Hill  and Theodore Hoffman hit .333. Scott Grist went eight innings in the first game on Saturday, forcing a .148 opponent's batting average and giving up no earned runs.
 
On the Warhawks
So far this season, UL Monroe has been up and down, spreading out wins and losses along the team's 6-5 record. After starting off with two losses against Southeastern Louisiana, the Warhawks salvaged the series with a 10-inning win in the finale. After taking two wins off Western Carolina in a three-game series, ULM split a two-game midweek home stand against Valparaiso. Last weekend, the Warhawks won two of three against Samford in Monroe.
 
Cade Stone currently leads ULM in batting average with an impressive .396, tallying 19 hits, nine RBIs and 10 runs scored. Anthony Herrera and Dalton Todd are also starting the season strong with .355 and .333 batting averages respectively.
 
While UL Monroe is hitting at a strong rate with 102 hits and nine home runs this year, the team's pitching is allowing opponents a .304 batting average and 118 hits. On Sunday, the Bobcats will face a weekend starter with a 10.12 ERA. As a squad, the Warhawks are currently carrying a 5.88 ERA and have given up 27 doubles, three triples and 10 homers in 2016.
 
On the Bobcats
Texas State is on a hot streak. Last Tuesday, the Bobcats pushed Texas to extra innings then followed that with a three-game sweep of Incarnate Word. To push the team's winning streak to four, Texas State beat Baylor, 12-3, in this past week's midweek and is hoping to keep it rolling as the team enters conference play.
 
The bats are popping with a .298 batting average and 10 home runs. As a squad, the Bobcats are getting on base at a percentage of .391 with a .468 slugging percentage. With 133 hits, 97 runs and 48 extra-base hits through 13 games, Texas State's offense has become a force. At the top of the lineup is the team's leader in hits (19) and RBIs (15), freshman Jonathan Ortega. He is batting .365 with 10 runs and eight extra-base hits along with five walks, two hits by pitch and three stolen bases. With 11 Bobcats hitting .300 or better so far this season, Ortega is certainly not the only Bobcat affecting the game from the plate.
 
On the mound, the Bobcats look stronger as each week passes. The team's 3.69 ERA comes with 98 strikeouts to 41 walks and an opponent's of .249. Lucas Humpal is coming off a week in which he not only claimed the SBC Pitcher of the Week award but was named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's National Pitcher of the Week. He has 22 strikeouts to just two walks while Jeremy Hallonquist and Jonathan Hennigan have combined for 26 more strikeouts to just 13 combined walks. The team is also seeing great relief from Chase Hodson, freshman Brayden Theriot with two saves from Pasquale Mazzoccoli.
 
A Look Ahead
After UL Monroe, the Bobcats will play at UTSA for the midweek before hosting the team's second conference series of the season, a three-game stand against Appalachian State.