SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State baseball starts off the 2023 season with a three-game series against Northwestern at Bobcat Ballpark. It will be the 13 consecutive year that the Bobcats will open a campaign at home.
 
Friday's season opener begins at 6 p.m. followed by a 2 p.m. contest on Saturday. The series concludes Sunday with a 12 p.m. first pitch.
 
Games on Friday and Sunday will be streamed on ESPN+ with Brant Freeman and Ty Harrington on the call. The Saturday contest can be heard on KTSW 89.9 FM with Bill Schoening providing the action over the air.
 
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: TXST RHP Levi Wells vs. NU RHP Michael Farinelli
Saturday: TXST RHP Zeke Wood vs. NU RHP Matt McClure
Sunday: TXST RHP Nathan Medrano vs. TBA
 
ABOUT TEXAS STATE
Texas State is coming off the best season in program history. In 2022, the program set records for wins (47), conference wins (26), claimed the second Sun Belt Conference regular season title in three full seasons, advanced to the finals of the NCAA Stanford Regional and recorded the best single-season turnaround in NCAA history (+24 games).
 
Four starting fielders return led by All-Sun Belt Preseason selection Jose Gonzalez. The senior outfielder bashed 13 home runs and drove in a team-high 60 runs. Joining him in the outfield in center is Ben McClain (.281, 7 HR). Peyton Lewis is back behind the plate after batting .291 and Daylan Pena had a solid freshman campaign in which he hit seven homers and finished with 44 RBI and runs scored.
 
Getting the ball on Friday night on the rubber is Levi Wells. The right-hander is a coming off a year in which he went 8-3 with a 3.07 ERA and 86 strikeouts. He was named to the Preseason All-American Third Team by Collegiate Baseball, D1Baseball, NCBWA and Perfect Game.
 
Zeke Wood, last year's Friday night ace, moves back into the Saturday slot. Last season saw him post a 7-1 record with a 3.78 ERA, struck out 103 and held opponents to a .190 batting average. Houston transfer Nathan Medrano gets the ball on Sunday. With the Cougars, he went 6-4 with one save, a 5.18 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 80 innings spanning 21 appearances including 14 starts.
 
ABOUT NORTHWESTERN
Northwestern compiled a 24-27 record with a 10-14 mark in the Big Ten Conference in 2022. The Wildcats were picked to finish last in the 13-team league by D1Baseball.
 
They return nine players that had a plate appearance last season. Vincent Bianchina is the top returning batter after hitting .247 with nine doubles, two triples and one home run. Senior Stephen Hrustich based 10 homers while being limited to a .208 average. Others that saw significant action were Tony Livermore (.221, 12 RBI) and Andrew Pinkston (.232, 16 RBI).
 
Friday will see Michael Farinelli handed the ball. He posted a 6-5 record, 4.43 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 87.1 innings in his first season with NU. The graduate right-hander pitched in 14 games with 13 starts and tossed three complete games.
 
Loyola Marymount transfer Matt McClure gets the start on Saturday. The right-hander had a 3-6 record, 8.03 ERA and 36 strikeouts over 17 games, including 11 starts, last season on the West Coast. Sunday's start is still to be announced.
 
SERIES VS. WILDCATS
This weekend will be the first-ever meeting between Texas State and Northwestern. It will be the fifth straight year that the Bobcats will face an opponent for the first time to open a season. The Wildcats are also the first of six teams this season that TXST plays for the first time in program history. Other first-time foes will be Grand Canyon and Oral Roberts in non-conference action and Sun Belt newcomers Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Miss.
 
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