SAN MARCOS, Texas – A trip to the mountains of North Carolina is on tap for No. 9 Texas State (20-6, 5-1 Sun Belt) this weekend against Appalachian State (10-13, 3-3 Sun Belt). Friday's first pitch at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT. Saturday's contest is slated for a 2 p.m. CT and the series finale on Sunday will begin at 10 a.m. CT.
 
All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available as well.
 
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: TXST RHP Zeke Wood (2-1) vs. APP LHP Tyler Tuthill (1-4)
Saturday: TXST RHP Levi Wells (3-1) vs. APP RHP Xander Hamilton (1-3)
Sunday: TXST TBA vs. APP RHP Trey Tujetsch (3-0)
 
RANKED!
For the third straight week, Texas State was ranked in all six major polls. The Bobcats achieved their highest ranking ever in Baseball America (#19) and USA Today (#20), maintained the best spot in Collegiate Baseball Newspaper (#9), D1Baseball (#20) and Perfect Game (#20) and dropped two spots in the NCBWA (#23).
 
ABOUT TEXAS STATE
Dalton Shuffield hit his team leading third triple and the 10 in his career on Tuesday to move into a tie for third in program history. He also paces the Bobcats with a .404 batting average, 38 hits, 33 runs, 24 RBI, 10 stolen bases and eight doubles. His six home runs are second behind seven from John Wuthrich, who is batting .303 with 25 runs and 22 RBI. Also batting over .300 is Justin Thompson at .330 and has swiped seven bases. Daylan Pena has driven in 20 runs and Wesley Fashion has come around to score 20 times.
 
Getting the start Friday on the rubber will be Zeke Wood. The right-hander is 2-1 with a 2.61 ERA and a team-high 42 strikeouts. Levi Wells heads into Saturday at 3-1 and sporting a 1.72 ERA, the lowest in the conference, and has struck out 39. Sunday's starter is to be announced.
 
Tristan Stivors leads the Sun Belt with seven saves while recording a 2-0 record, 0.78 ERA and 31 strikeouts over 23 innings spanning 13 appearances. Matthew Nicholas (1-0, 1.00 ERA) has made 12 relief appearances. Only other Bobcat to appear in double-digit games out of the bullpen has been Carson Keithley (2-0, 4.02 ERA).
 
ABOUT APPALACHIAN STATE
The Mountaineers have won their last two games after defeating UNC Asheville 11-1 in seven innings Tuesday. Last weekend saw App State win a road series at Little Rock. At home, the Mountaineers are 3-3 with two wins over UNC Wilmington and one over Georgia Southern.
 
Hayden Cross leads the team with a .337 batting average and 20 RBI. Also batting over .300 is Alex Aguila (.307). Hunter Bryson has hit a team-high four home runs and Andrew Terrell comes in with six stolen bases.
 
Friday will see Tyler Tuthill, who is 1-4 with a 7.12 ERA and 21 strikeouts, start on the mound. Xander Hamilton leads the Sun Belt and is eighth nationally with 57 strikeouts. He is also 1-3 with a 5.35 ERA and is scheduled to start on Saturday. Getting the ball in the series finale will be Trey Tujetsch. The right-hander comes in 3-0 with a 2.93 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 30.2 innings.
 
Earning two of App State's four saves has been Eli Ellington (0-2, 7.02 ERA). Also recording a save has been Trey Jernigan (1-1, 6.48 ERA) and Grey LaSpaluto (1-1, 7.15 ERA). Coming out of the bullpen eight times has been Cameron Carter (1-1, 4.24 ERA).
 
SERIES VS. MOUNTAINEERS
Texas State leads the all-time series 14-2. The Bobcats won the first 14 meetings but the past two have gone in the Mountaineers' favor. Last time the teams met was in the first game of pool play at the Sun Belt Tournament and ended 1-0. The Bobcats' last victory was 5-4 in Boone on Mar. 30, 2019. TXST is 8-1 all-time when playing App State on the road.
 
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