Baseball | 3/21/2016 5:28:00 PM

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State takes a break from hosting opponents to travel to Edinburg, Texas, to face UT Rio Grande Valley at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
 
Game Info: Texas State at UT Rio Grande Valley
Site: Edinburg Baseball Stadium – Edinburg, Texas
Date: Tuesday, March 22
Time: 6 p.m.
 
Probable Pitching Matchup
#34 LHP Jonathan Hennigan (2-0, 4.08) vs. #41 RHP Robert Quinonez (0-0, 6.35)
 
The Series                                                                                                  
Texas State and UT Rio Grande Valley have not met previously, but with UTRGV forming as a combination of Texas at Brownsville and UT-Pan American, the Bobcats do have a long-standing advantage against UTPA, 43-19. Head Coach Ty Harrington stands at 24-7 against the former UTPA. The teams last met in 2008, but Texas State's last victory against the now Vaqueros came in a 12-5 win on February 4, 2007.
 
Last Meeting
The last meeting between formerly UTPA and the Bobcats was an 8-0 victory on April 16, 2008. It was the second of back-to-back meetings in San Marcos with the Bobcats winning the first game, 11-7.
 
On the Vaqueros
The UTRGV Vaqueros are 9-10 on the season with wins in their last two games against Jackson State, 11-4 and 10-4. UT Rio Grande Valley started the season on an 0-4 drought before picking up the team's first win against Washington State. Since then, UTRGV has gone 8-6.
 
UT Rio Grande Valley is hitting well this season with a .270 team batting average, led by Jose Garcia at .400. He has 22 hits, 10 RBIs and 22 runs, but Joseph Collazo leads the team in hits with 25 and runs with 22. He also has 10 RBIs on a .373 batting average. Those two and Jacob Huckabay are the only Vaqueros hitting .300 or better.
 
The pitching staff owns a 3.85 ERA, but Tuesday's starter, Robert Quinonez, has a 6.35 ERA and has only pitched 5.2 innings so far this season. He's given up seven runs, four earned, on seven hits and five walks with six strikeouts. Opponents are hitting .280 against him.
 
On the Bobcats
Texas State has had an outstanding start to the season. After going 3-1 against Pac-12 opponent Washington State on opening weekend and 2-1 at the Kleberg College Classic. Since then, the Bobcats have swept three consecutive series including two against Sun Belt Conference opponents UL Monroe and Appalachian State.
 
The offense has been rolling with a .309 team batting average led by Dylan Paul at .476. In all, nine Bobcats are hitting .300 or better this season. This past week, Theodore Hoffman found his swing with three home runs and 11 RBIs in the last four games. The Bobcats pelted six home runs just last week alone and own 18 on the season.
 
On the mound Tuesday will be junior lefty Jonathan Hennigan. He has four starts this season, all coming on the weekend, but the Bobcats are going to try him in the midweek this week. He has tallied 19 strikeouts in 17.2 innings of work so far this season with opponents hitting .213 against him. He is part of a staff that boasts a 3.48 ERA and is on a current streak of holding opponents scoreless in 25 consecutive innings.
 
A Look Ahead
This weekend, in a series from Thursday to Saturday, the Bobcats will host Sun Belt Conference foe South Alabama in a meeting of the only teams in the SBC still undefeated in conference play. After that, the Bobcats will travel to play Sam Houston State on Monday before heading to Georgia to face Georgia Southern in an SBC weekend series.