SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State (30-16, 12-9 Sun Belt) is back home for a weekend series for the first time in three weeks as it takes on Georgia State (24-22, 11-10 Sun Belt) at Bobcat Ballpark. Game one on Friday is schedule for 6 p.m. and Saturday's contest starts at 2:30 p.m. The finale on Sunday will see the first pitch at 12 p.m.
 
Only Sunday's game will be on ESPN+ with the final home softball series also taking place this weekend. Fans can listen to the action all three days on the radio at KTSW 89.9 FM.
 
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: TXST RHP Levi Wells (7-2, 4.20 ERA) vs. GSU RHP Ryan Watson (5-1, 4.25 ERA)
Saturday: TXST RHP Zeke Wood (1-2, 4.83 ERA) vs. GSU RHP Rafael Acosta (2-1, 6.12 ERA)
Sunday: TXST RHP Tony Robie (5-2, 4.17 ERA) vs. GSU TBA
 
ABOUT TEXAS STATE
Tuesday saw the Bobcats begin the month of May with a 10-5 victory over Incarnate Word. It was the team's ninth win in the last 12 games. The previous three home Sun Belt Conference series has seen TXST win them all including a sweep of Marshall.
 
Davis Powell continues to be the spark plug of the offense with a team-high .387 average, 53 hits, 39 runs and 15 doubles. Coming off a four-hit game, Chase Mora raised his batting average to .322 while also hitting a team-high 13 home runs and has driven in 41 runs. Jose Gonzalez is the only other Bobcat with double-digit homers at 10 and has posted a team best 46 RBI. Freshman Rashawn Galloway enters the weekend on an eight-game hitting streak in which he has gone 14-for-33 (.424) with seven runs, five RBI and three doubles in that span.
 
Friday will see Levi Wells get the start. The right-hander is 7-2 with a 4.20 ERA and team-high 74 strikeouts in 55.2 innings of work. Zeke Wood (1-2, 4.83 ERA, 47 K) moves up a day in the rotation to Saturday while Tony Robie (5-2, 4.17 ERA, 39 K) slides to the Sunday starter.
 
Triston Dixon (4-1, 4.19 ERA, 5 SV) has made a team-high 22 appearances in relief. Pacing all relievers with 52 strikeouts with a 2-2 record, two saves and a 3.62 ERA is Jack Stroud. Also with a sub-4.00 ERA out of the bullpen is Jonathan Martinez at 3.60 over 15.0 innings.
 
ABOUT GEORGIA STATE
The Panthers are coming off an 11-5 loss at No. 5 Vanderbilt on Tuesday. Last week saw them win all four of their games with a midweek win over Georgia followed by a sweep of the Thundering Herd. GSU is 7-13 on the road and have gone 3-6 in conference play with series losses to App State, James Madison and South Alabama.
 
Heading into the weekend, the Panthers are sixth in the nation with 91 homers led by Luke Boynton (.275, 36 R, 38 RBI) and Max Ryerson (.400, 42 R, 38 RBI) with 14 apiece. JoJo Jackson (.321) and Dylan Strickland (.325) have each hit 11 long balls and driven in 35 runs. Will Mize paces the squad with 40 RBI and Cameron Jones leads the conference with 32 stolen bases.
 
Ryan Watson gets the ball on Friday night. The right-hander comes in with a 5-1 record, 4.25 ERA and 59 strikeouts over 65.2 innings spanning 11 starts. Rafael Acosta is slated to start on Saturday and is 2-1 with a 6.12 ERA and has punched out 30 in 42.2 innings. Sunday' s starter is still to be announced.
 
Brady Jones has picked up four of the team's seven saves. He is 1-0 with a 4.41 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 16.1 innings over 13 games. A team-high 19 relief appearances have been made by Aidan McAllister (8.22 ERA, 25 K). Davis Chastain (2-1, 5.68 ERA, 27 K) and Zach Ottinger (0-5, 2 SV, 6.35 ERA) have come out of the bullpen 18 and 17 times, respectively.
 
SERIES VS. PANTHERS
Texas State leads the all-time series 16-8. Last season saw the Bobcats sweep the series in Atlanta to close out the regular season and claim the outright conference title with all three games being decided by a run.
 
When hosting the Panthers, TXST is 8-7 with the most recent time being May 14-15, 2021. That weekend saw GSU win all three games. The last home win in the series was a 12-2 contest that ended in eight innings on May 5, 2019.
 
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