SAN MARCOS, Texas – Friday night will see Texas State (36-24) take on USC (43-15) in the College Station Regional at Blue Bell Park with first pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m.
 
The contest will air on ESPNU with broadcasters Richard Cross and Todd Walker. Fans can also listen to the game on the Varsity Sports Network with Brant Freeman and Ty Harrington on the call.
 
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: TXST LHP Ryan Markwardt (2-2) vs. USC Grant Govel (10-2)
 
ABOUT TEXAS STATE
The Bobcats will be playing in their seventh NCAA Tournament in team history and first since 2022 when that squad made a run to the finals of the Stanford Regional. This weekend will be the sixth time that TXST has played a regional in the state of Texas and the first time in College Station.
 
Heading into the weekend, Texas State has won nine out of its last 12 games that included sweeps at Arkansas State and against Marshall. The team is 5-2 when playing at a neutral site that includes a sweep of the College Baseball Series in Cleburne, Texas back in late February and victories over App State and Louisiana in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
 
Rashawn Galloway comes in leading the Bobcats with a .324 average, 83 hits, 27 doubles and three triples. He has also recorded 53 runs, 48 RBI, 12 home runs and a .594 SLG%. Both Clayton Namken and Manny Salas are hitting over .300 at .317 and .315, respectively. Namken has also produced 11 round trippers, nine doubles and drove in 34 runs. Salas enters with a team-high 54 runs scored and a .418 OBP while ranking second on the squad with 70 hits, 15 home runs, 14 doubles and 11 stolen bases.
 
Leading the way with 16 long balls and 54 RBI is Jaquae Stewart. He sports a .390 OBP having drawn 31 walks and been plunked 14 times. Also leaving the yard double-digit times has been Jackson Cotton (45 R, 34 RBI) and Chase Mora (39 R, 31 RBI) with 12 and 10 homers, respectively.
 
As a team, Texas State has hit 111 home runs to tie for the seventh most in the nation with Tennessee. The Bobcats are four homers shy of tying the Sun Belt record of 115 homers in a season that is held by New Mexico State and has stood since 2004.
 
Slated to start on Friday is Ryan Markwardt. The senior is 2-2 with 3.68 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 29.1 innings over 11 appearances that includes six starts. Over his last four starts, the lefty has allowed three runs with all of them earned in 16.2 innings and 29 strikeouts. His last earned run allowed came on Apr. 17 in the series opener at Southern Miss.
 
ABOUT USC
The Trojans ended the regular season tied for third in the Big Ten Conference with Oregon. They went 1-1 in the conference tournament with a victory over Michigan State before falling to UCLA in the semifinals. USC opened the season with 19 straight wins to tie a program record. The Trojans are making their 39 NCAA Tournament appearance, have reached the College World Series 21 times and have won 12 national titles.
 
Pacing the squad offensively with a .356 average is Jack Basseer. He has also hit 10 home runs, scored 38 runs and driven in 36. Kevin Takeuchi comes in with a team-high 52 RBI and shares the team lead of 56 runs scored with Adrian Lopez, who has left the yard 11 times. Also hitting double-digit homers has been Augie Lopez with team best 17 and Andrew Lamb with 10.
 
Taking the mound will be Grant Govel. The right-hander is 10-2 with a 2.84 ERA, 0.86 WHIP in 88.2 inning over 16 appearances, including 15 starts. He has struck out 86, walked just 11 batters and is holding opponents to a .199 batting average.
 
SERIES VS. TROJANS
Friday will be the first-ever meeting between Texas State and USC. It will also be the first time that the Bobcats have faced a Big Ten opponent in the postseason.
 
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