SAN MARCOS, Texas – The 30th-ranked Texas State baseball team is back home this weekend for a three-game series against Georgia State at Bobcat Ballpark.
 
Friday's series opener will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday's contest is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. and the series finale on Sunday will see first pitch at 12 p.m.
 
Entering the game, the Bobcats are 31-14 overall and 15-6 in the Sun Belt Conference while the Panthers are 13-32 on the season with a 4-17 mark in conference play.
 
A video stream and live stats will be available the entire series. Brant Freeman will have the radio call for the contests on KTSW 89.9 FM.
 
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: TXST RHP Nicholas Fraze (6-3, 4.75 ERA) vs. GSU RHP Hunter Gaddis (1-5, 5.78 ERA)
Saturday: TXST RHP Hunter McMahon (5-4, 4.46 ERA) vs. GSU TBA
Sunday: TXST RHP Connor Reich (6-1, 3.45 ERA) vs. GSU TBA
 
Scouting Texas State
Texas State is coming off an 8-5 defeat at UTSA that snapped its 10-game winning streak. The Bobcats enter the game 15-6 at home this season with a 7-2 mark in Sun Belt action.
 
Jaxon Williams leads the team in batting average (.348) and hits (62) while both he and Jaylen Hubbard have scored a team-high 51 runs. Hubbard enters the game hitting .331 with 60 hits, 15 of which are doubles.
 
After getting plunked three times by Roadrunners' pitchers, Will Hollis increased his on-base percentage to .477. The junior outfielder is batting .329 with 14 doubles and a team best 38 RBIs. Also batting over .300 is Dalton Shuffield (.322), who is a perfect 9-for-9 stealing bases.
 
Skyler Valentine is second on the team with a 37 RBIs. He also one of four Bobcats with five home runs along with John Wuthrich, Hollis and Hubbard.
 
The starting rotation remains the same with Nicholas Fraze scheduled to start Friday's opener. Hunter McMahon will take the hill on Saturday and Connor Reich is slated to start the series finale.
 
Scouting Georgia State
Georgia State is coming off a series loss to Coastal Carolina at home but ended the three-game set with a 15-11 victory. The Panther's win snapped a seven-game losing streak. When playing on the road, GSU is 4-13 with a 2-7 mark against conference opponents. Both wins came during the first conference series of the year at Appalachian State.
 
Just two players are hitting over .300 led by Brandon Bell at .328. He also has a team-high 58 hits and 11 doubles while scoring 30 times, driving in 19 and stealing four bases. Griffin Cheney enters hitting .313 and tied for the team lead with 31 runs scored with Daino Deas.
 
Luke Leonard has a team-high 30 RBIs and is second on the squad with three home runs. He enters with a .296 batting average.
 
Pacing GSU with six homers is Elian Merejo. The junior catcher has 29 RBIs, 28 runs scored and is hitting .270.
 
Hunter Gaddis, the Sun Belt's Preseason Pitcher of the Year, is scheduled to start on Friday. He comes on with a 1-5 record, 5.78 ERA and has struck out 82 while walking 19 in 67 innings. Both Saturday's and Sunday's starters are TBA.
 
All-Time Series
Texas State leads the all-time series 11-4 after sweeping the three games last season in Atlanta. The last time the teams met in San Marcos was 2017 when the Panthers won two games. It is the only time that the Bobcats have not taken the regular season series from them.
 
When playing at Bobcat Ballpark, TXST is 6-3 against GSU. However, the programs have split the last six meetings after the Bobcats won swept a three-game set in 2014.
 
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