SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State baseball team closes out its non-conference weekend series at Bobcat Ballpark with a three-game set against UConn. Friday's first pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. with Saturday's game starting a 2:30 p.m. and Sunday beginning at 12 p.m.
 
Coming into the series, the Bobcats are 9-4 on the season and have won four of their last five games. The Huskies enter with a 5-5 record with all of their games coming on the road.
 
Games on Friday and Sunday will be broadcast on KTSW 89.9 FM with Brant Freeman on the call. Audio for Saturday's game will be online only with the women's basketball game being broadcast on KTSW. All games of the series will be streamed online with a link on the baseball schedule page.
 
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: Texas State RHP Nicholas Fraze (2-1, 3.79 ERA) vs. UConn RHP Jeff Kersten (2-0, 2.95 ERA)
Saturday: Texas State RHP Hunter McMahon (2-1, 5.50 ERA) vs. UConn LHP Mason Feole (0-0, 6.00 ERA)
Sunday: Texas State RHP Connor Reich (1-0, 1.83 ERA) vs. UConn RHP Joe Simeone (0-0, 7.84 ERA)
 
Scouting Texas State
Texas State is coming off two midweek victories over San Antonio based schools. The Bobcats defeated I-35 rival UTSA 8-3 on the road Tuesday and then beat Incarnate Word on Wednesday 7-4 at home.
 
Jaxon Williams paces TXST and is fourth in the Sun Belt Conference with a .417 batting average. He is also third in the conference in on-base percentage (.517), tied for fourth in runs scored (15) and tied for fifth in hits (20).
 
Jaylen Hubbard enters with a .412 batting average, the fifth best in the Sun Belt, and leads the conference with three triples. The senior third baseman ranks third in runs scored (16), tied for third in hits (21) and is fourth in both on-base (.516) and slugging (.647) percentages.
 
Both Will Hollis and Ryan Newman have driven in a team-high 10 runs while Skyler Valentine and John Wuthrich have scored 11 and 10 runs, respectively. Cole Coffey comes into the weekend with four doubles, the most on the team.
 
Nicholas Fraze, Hunter McMahon and Connor Reich will all be making their fourth starts of the year. Fraze is the reigning Sun Belt Community Coffee Pitcher of the Week and was recently recognized as the 2019 Shriners College Classic's Most Outstanding Player. He heads into the series with a team leading 22 strikeouts to four walks.
 
McMahon has struck out 14 batters in 18 innings of work. Reich has recorded a quality start each time he has taken the rubber this season. The senior right-hander has 18 strikeouts, two walks and is holding opponents to a .197 batting average.
 
Kyle Bradford and Brent Hebert have both made six appearances out of the bullpen. Bradford has a 1.29 ERA and four strikeouts in seven innings. Hebert has recorded five strikeouts in eight innings with a 2.25 ERA and a 1-1 record.
 
Scouting UConn
UConn is coming off a 1-2 weekend at the CCU Baseball Tournament in Conway, South Carolina. Its lone win was a 7-4 contest over then No. 25 Illinois while dropping games to then 19th-ranked Coastal Carolina (10-7) and Indiana (9-6).
 
Anthony Prato leads the Huskies in batting average (.390) and doubles (6) and is second in hits (16). He has scored nine times and driven in four runs. The junior infielder is just 1-for-5 stealing bases.
 
Leading the way with 17 hits is Michael Woodworth, who has a .386 batting average, four RBIs and scored 10 times. John Topps paces UConn in RBI (10), runs (11), strikeouts (12) and shares the team lead in home runs with two with Christian Fedko.
 
Jeff Kersten has been the Huskies best starting pitcher so far in 2019. He is 2-0 with a 2.95 ERA and 10 strikeouts over 18.1 innings. Mason Feole struck out two in three frames in his lone start of the season against the Illini. Joe Simeone comes in with a 7.84 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 10.1 innings spanning three starts.
 
Coming in with four saves to rank third in the nation is Jacob Wallace. He sports a 1.35 ERA and nine strikeouts in 6.2 innings of work. C.J. Dandeneau has made a team-high six appearances in relief. The senior right-hander is 1-0 with one save, 1.35 ERA and team-high 16 strikeouts in 13.1 innings.
 
All-Time Series
Texas State and UConn will be meeting for the first time this weekend. The Huskies will be the fifth American Athletic Conference team that the Bobcats will have ever played, joining Houston, Tulane, UCF and Wichita State.
 
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