Baseball | 4/11/2016 4:25:00 PM

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State hosts No. 19 Rice this week for the Tuesday midweek game at 6 p.m. The Bobcats and nationally ranked Rice have a long history, and Texas State will be looking for its first win against the Owls in seven games. It is also the first game this season against a ranked opponent.
 
Game Info: Texas State vs. No. 19 Rice
Site: Bobcat Ballpark – San Marcos, Texas
Date: Tuesday, April 12
Time: 6 p.m.
 
Probable Pitching Matchup
#34 LHP Jonathan Hennigan (4.09 ERA, 2-0) vs. #42 RHP Willy Amador (3.18 ERA, 2-0)
 
The Series
Rice has the advantage over Texas State in the all-time series, 49-13, and have beaten the Bobcats in the past seven meetings. The last time Texas State beat Rice in San Marcos was March 6, 2012 in a 3-2 victory. Head Coach Ty Harrington is 7-27 all-time against the Owls.
 
Last Meeting
Texas State fell to Rice in the last meeting in Houston, 8-4, on February 24 this season. The Bobcats scored first, but Rice answered in the bottom of the inning. Texas State followed with three runs in the fourth inning to snag a 4-1 lead, but the Owls responded in the bottom of the fifth with five runs and two more in the seventh for the win. Jonathan Ortega led the offense with three hits while Brandon Lewis struck four out.
 
On the No. 19 Owls
Rice won its last game, 3-0, against UAB as part of two victories in the three game series. In fact, the Owls have won five of their last six and 11 of their last 13. Since playing the Bobcats, Rice has gone 17-9 with most of their opponents being Conference USA rivals.
 
As always, the Owls are pitching well this season with just a 2.96 team ERA. They have two complete games, three shutouts and 11 saves with more than double the amount of strikeouts to walks (264-109). Opponents are hitting just .229 against Rice. Tuesday's starter Willy Amador has a 3.18 ERA with 18 strikeouts to just four walks but opponents are hitting .315 against him.
 
Hitting-wise, though, Rice is struggling a bit. The Owls only have nine home runs this season with a .248 batting average. With a .320 slugging percentage and a .326 on-base percentage, Rice has left 191 runners on base, but stolen 21 bags on 37 attempts. Charlie Warren leads the squad with a .319 batting average but only two others are hitting above .300. Ryan Chandler leads the team in hits with 35 while Ford Proctor has 17 RBIs to lead Rice.
 
On the Bobcats
Texas State is coming off a tough weekend in which the Bobcats won just one of three against Nevada, but earned five consecutive wins before that series and currently sit with one more win and one more loss on Rice (21-12 to 20-11).
 
The Bobcats have hit well this season with a .294 team batting average led by Dylan Paul and his .342. Meanwhile, Granger Studdard is heating up, hitting .397 since the Bobcats started conference play against UL Monroe. Since then, he has 31 hits, 17 RBIs, 15 runs, 13 walks with a slugging percentage of .577 and an on-base percentage of .484. In that 20-game stretch, Studdard leads the team in batting average, on-base percentage, runs, hits, walks and hits by pitch while sitting second or third in slugging percentage, RBIs and total bases.
 
In addition to those two, six other Bobcats are hitting .296 or better, while pitching has a 3.84 ERA so far with an opponent average of .243. Tuesday's starter Jonathan Hennigan is second on the team in strikeouts with 34 in 33.0 innings pitched. Also, closer Pasquale Mazzoccoli is up to nine saves on the season with 21 strikeouts and a .200 opponent average.
 
A Look Ahead
After Rice, the Bobcats will host Sun Belt Conference opponent Little Rock over the weekend. Once that series is over, Texas State will go on a tough road trip that includes No. 3 Texas A&M, UL Lafayette and Texas.