SAN MARCOS, Texas – The 2024 baseball season begins this weekend for Texas State with a three-game series against Youngstown State at Bobcat Ballpark. It will be the 14th consecutive year that the Bobcats will open a campaign at home.
 
Friday's season opener begins at 6 p.m. followed by a 2:30 p.m. contest on Saturday. The series concludes Sunday with an 11 a.m. first pitch.
 
All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ with Bill Culhane and Will Hollis on the call. Friday's contest can also be heard on KTSW 89.9 FM.
 
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: TXST RHP Austin Eaton vs. YSU RHP Jacob Gehring
Saturday: TXST LHP Jack Stroud vs. YSU LHP Sloan Ulrich
Sunday: TXST RHP Peyton Zabel vs. YSU RHP Lane Rhodes
 
ABOUT TEXAS STATE
Texas State is coming off a 36-win campaign and saw a program record 52,216 fans attend games at Bobcat Ballpark. A total of 29 games this season at home and three apiece at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas and Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros.
 
Four of the five Bobcats that hit 10 or more home runs last season return led by Chase Mora, who smacked a freshman record 17 round trippers. He was chosen to the All-Sun Belt Preseason Team at second base after also batting .316 with 57 RBI. Other double-digit homer returns are Cade Manning (10), Daylan Pena (11) and August Ramirez (10).
 
Davis Powell led the team last season with a .337 batting average, 17 doubles and was plunked 11 times. Kameron Weil also hit .337 and was a perfect 10-for-10 stealing bases.
 
Slated to get the ball on Friday night is Austin Eaton. The right-hander was a NJCAA All-American Second Team selection after going 11-0 with one save and 2.12 ERA in 68.0 innings for Navarro College. Jack Stroud will start on Saturday and is coming off a 3-2 campaign with four saves and 3.56 ERA in 25 appearances that included one start. Rounding out the opening weekend rotation will be Peyton Zabel, who made nine midweek starts last season on the way to a 2-2 mark, 5.46 ERA and 30 punchouts.
 
ABOUT YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Youngstown State compiled a 19-36 record last season with a 13-16 mark in the Horizon League. The Penguins were picked to finish fifth in the six-team conference just ahead of Purdue Fort Wayne and right behind Milwaukee. They will play their first 16 games on the road before their home opener on Mar. 15.
 
Returning are all-conference performers Trey Law and Matt Thompson. Law, playing a shortstop, posted a slash line of .362/.437/.452 with 80 hits, 17 doubles, one homer and 29 RBI. Thompson, the HL Freshman of the Year, batted .316 with 54 base knocks, 10 doubles, three home runs and 28 RBI with 46 starts coming at second base. Other key returners are catcher Ian Francis (.287, 5 HR, 25 RBI) and outfielder RJ Sherwood (.226, 8 HR, 21 RBI).
 
Friday night will see Ohio State transfer Jacob Gehring take the rubber. The right-hander had a 1-2 record with a 10.07 ERA over 19.2 innings spanning 21 games with one start while striking out 21 for the Buckeyes. For his collegiate career, he is 1-5 with a 9.27 ERA in 44.2 innings with 37 strikeouts and 25 walks.
 
Left-hander Sloan Ulrich takes the ball on Saturday. Last year he was the OCCA Pitcher of the Year after going 3-1 with a 3.88 ERA in 48.2 innings and striking out 55 while pitching for Cuyahoga Community College. Lane Rhodes is slated to start on Sunday. He made one start last year at Wake Forest where he recorded an out and walked a batter before suffering a season-ending injury.
 
Out of the bullpen, Casey Marshalwitx recorded six of YSU's nine saves last season. The fifth-year southpaw posted an 8.58 ERA after tossing 28.1 innings and struck out 30 in 30 appearances. Zach Stayduhar pitched in 17 games in relief on his way to a 0-1 record, 6.85 ERA, 17 strikeouts and 27 free passes in 23.2 innings.
 
SERIES VS. PENGUINS
This weekend will be the first-ever meeting between Texas State and Youngstown State. It will be the sixth straight year that the Bobcats will face an opponent for the first time to open a season. The Penguins are one of two teams that TXST will play for the first time ever this season along with James Madison (Mar. 22-24).
 
YSU will be the first team from the Horizon League to visit San Marcos. TXST did play current league member Northern Kentucky in 2013 but the Norse were then members of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
 
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