SAN MARCOS, Texas – The 2020 season and the Steven Trout era of Texas State baseball begins this weekend with a four-game series against Stony Brook at Bobcat Ballpark. Friday's season opener will see first pitch at 6 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. and the series finale starting at 12 p.m. Sunday.
 
Friday's and Sunday's game will be both be broadcast on KTSW with play-by-play from Brant Freeman. There will be live stats for all four contests, while there will be no video stream for any of the games.
 
PROBABLY STARTING PITCHERS
FRI.: TXST Sr. RHP Zachary Leigh (3-1, 4.41 ERA) vs. Stony Brook Sr. LHP Jared Milch (1-3, 8.27 ERA)
SAT.: (GAME 1): TXST Jr. RHP Trevis Sundgren (N/A) vs. Stony Brook Sr. RHP Sam Turcotte (4-2, 4.04 ERA)
SAT.: (GAME 2): TXST So. RHP Reece Gould (0-0, 9.53 ERA) vs. Stony Brook So. RHP Nick DeGennaro (1-4, 8.36 ERA)
SUN.: TXST Sr. LHP Wes Engle (N/A) vs. Stony Brook TBD
 
SERIES VS. SEAWOLVES
This weekend will be the first-ever meeting between the Bobcats and Seawolves. It will also be the first time that TXST has faced a team from the America East Conference.
 
ABOUT TEXAS STATE
Texas State brings back four starters in the field from the 2019 Sun Belt Conference regular season championship team led by All-Sun Belt Preseason selection Will Hollis (.320, 6 HR, 20 2B, 47 RBI). Joining him the outfield is John Wuthirch (.311, 8 HR, 40 RBI). The double play tandem of Dalton Shuffield (.330, 72 H, 26 RBI) and Jaxon Williams (.318, 5 HR, 55 R, 29 RBI) is also back.
 
The pitching staff saw the departure of all three weekend starters via the MLB Draft. Garrett Herrmann and Zachary Leigh are the lone pitchers from last season that started games. The rotation will see the return of Wes Engle, who missed all of 2019 because of an injury.
 
Battling for spots in the starting rotation and bullpen will be a helping of junior college transfers and young sophomore and freshmen arms.
 
ABOUT STONY BROOK
Stony Brook is coming off a 31-23 season in which it claimed the America East regular season and tournament titles. The Seawolves played in the Baton Rouge Regional, dropping games to Arizona State and LSU.
 
They return two starters from last season in Chris Hamilton and John Tuccillo. Hamilton hit .325 with eight home runs, 16 doubles and recorded a team-high six sacrifice flies. The first baseman drove in 42 runs and scored 39 times. Tuccillo batted .242 with three homers and six doubles while finishing with 31 RBI and 25 runs scored.
 
Stony Brook brings back seven hurlers with both Brian Herrmann (4-1, 4.70 ERA) and Jared Milch (1-3, 8.27 ERA) starting eight games apiece. Sam Turcotte appeared in a team-high 24 games and posted seven saves with 47 strikeouts. A staff-low 2.19 ERA was recorded by Ben Fero, who tossed 24.2 innings in 14 appearances while going 4-1 with 17 strikeouts and eight walks.
 
SEASON & HOME OPENERS
Texas State will be starting its 36 year since restarting the program. In that time, the Bobcats have gone 20-15 on opening day with a 5-5 mark over the past decade. Friday will be the 10th consecutive time TXST has started the year at home. In home openers, TXST also sports a 20-15 record.
 
TROUT ERA
The Steven Trout era of Texas State baseball begins this weekend. Taking over for legendary head coach Ty Harrington, who retired after 20 years at the helm, Trout is the fifth head coach in program history. He is looking to make it four of five coaches to win their first game in charge of the program with the lone defeat being in 1994 by Howard Bushong at Incarnate Word (8-6).
 
Trout enters the 2020 season as the 25 youngest head coach in Division I baseball. He is also the youngest coach in the state of Texas and in the Sun Belt Conference.
 
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