SAN MARCOS, Texas – This weekend will see Texas State (24-24, 12-12 Sun Belt) hit the road for the final time in Sun Belt Conference play to take on Georgia Southern (25-24, 11-13 Sun Belt) at J.I. Clements Stadium. Friday will see the team's play a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. CT due to inclement weather on Saturday. The series finale on Sunday is still slated for 12 p.m. CT.

Fans can watch the series on ESPN + and live stats will also be available.

PROBABLY STARTING PITCHERS

Friday (GM 1): TXST LHP Alex Valentin (5-4) vs GS RHP Brady Pendley (3-2)

Friday (GM 2): TXST LHP Jesus Tovar (3-5) vs. GS RHP Kade Grundy (6-5)

Sunday: TXST Austin Eaton (3-2) vs. GS TBD

ABOUT TEXAS STATE

The Bobcats are coming off their second conference sweep of the season after taking all three games against ULM. The three victories moved TXST into a tie for fifth place in the Sun Belt standings. Texas State has won its last four conference games and scored at least 10 runs in three of them. When playing on the road, the Bobcats are 8-12 this season with 4-8 record in league play.

Chase Mora leads the team in batting average (.309), hits (58), runs (37), RBI (36) and home runs (7). His 12 doubles are tied for the most on the squad with Ryne Farber while he is second with 10 stolen bases. Farber comes in batting .290 with 35 runs, 28 RBI, 12 stolen bases and three homers. Also with over 20 RBI is Samson Pugh with 23.

Both Coy DeFury and Austin Munguia have been swinging hot bats lately. Munguia comes in hitting .333 (20-for-60) with 17 RBI and a .474 OBP. DeFury has hit four round trippers, scored 19 times and driven in 16 runs while batting .304 (24-for-79).

The rotation remains the same from last weekend with Alex Valentin (5-4, 4.79 ERA, 51 K) scheduled to get the ball in the first game on Friday. Fellow lefty Jesus Tovar (3-5, 5.73 ERA, 51 K) will take the rubber in game two of the doubleheader. Austin Eaton (3-2, 5.01 ERA, 23 K) is scheduled to start in Sunday's finale.

Matthew Tippie has made a team-high 21 relief appearances. He is 2-0 with a 3.16 ERA and staff-high 58 strikeouts in 37 innings. Carson Laws has recorded seven saves in his 19 outing while going 3-1 with a 5.12 ERA and 45 strikeouts. Making 20 appearances with one start has been Bryson Dudley. The right-hander is 4-1 with a 5.45 ERA and has struck out 36 over 3.42 innings.

ABOUT GEORGIA SOUTHERN

The Eagles are coming off an 8-5 loss on Tuesday at Georgia Tech. It was Georgia Southern's second straight loss and seventh in its last nine games. At home, the Eagles are 18-10 with a 7-5 against Sun Belt opponents.

Sean Smith enters hitting a team best .367 with nine home runs, 33 RBI and 31 runs. Josh Tate leads the squad in hits (73), runs (49), RBI (39), doubles (16) and homers (11) while batting .358. Also hitting over .300 is Daniel Haab at .314 while adding seven long balls, 30 runs and 27 RBI. Cade Park has also hit double-digit homers with 10.

Getting the ball in Friday's noon contest is right-hander Brady Pendley, who is 3-2 with a staff-low 3.23 ERA. He has struck out 48 in 53.0 innings in 13 games including three starts. Kade Grundy will get the ball in the second game and has gone 6-5 with a 4.75 ERA and team-high 50 strikeouts over 60.2 innings. Sunday's starter is to be announced later.

Davis Smith and Will Robbins have recorded four and three saves, respectively. Both have an ERA over eight with Robbins at 8.41 and Smith at 8.49. Carter DeGondea comes in with a 4-0 record, 3.56 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 43.0 innings have appeared in 14 games with one start.

SERIES VS. EAGLES

Texas State leads the all-time series 9-7. The last meeting between the teams came in 2022 in San Marcos that saw Georgia Southern win the first two games of the series before the Bobcats recorded a walk-off victory in the series finale.

This weekend will be just the third time TXST has made the trip to Statesboro for a weekend series and first time since 2019. That weekend saw the Eagles win the opener before the Bobcats claimed the next two games to take the series. When playing in Statesboro, Texas State is 5-2 all-time with the only other loss coming in the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals in 2017.

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