March 24, 2008

SAN MARCOS - The Texas State Bobcats but together back-to-back wins to close out the three-game Southland Conference series with Texas-Arlington over the weekend and look to extend the successful streak when they break from league action to host the No. 13 Rice Owls Tuesday night at Bobcat Field. The game is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.

The Bobcats:

Last week Texas State traveled north for a tilt with No. 18 Texas before the home-league series with Texas-Arlington. The Bobcats concluded the week with an even 2-2 record, falling to the Longhorns 9-6 in a taut match before opening the series with a 6-5 ten-inning loss to UTA. Game two proved to be the rallying point and the chips fell into place for a victorious finish, a 10-9 split game and a 13-4 closer.

The team showcased a .357 batting average during the past week, including 15 multiple base hits which encompassed five home runs, four of which came in the final game of the series with UTA. The `Cats slugged for .516 percent and reached base on 43 percent of its efforts. The team put in 34 total RBI off 56 hits, including a season-high 18-hit game versus the Mavericks.

On the overall scale, Texas State is batting .320 and slugging for .472 with eight of its starting nine batting over .300. The `Cats average 32 more hits than their opponents, putting up 220 to date, an average of 12 hits per game. Defensively, the `Cats fielding percentage lies at .963 turning 21 double-plays, a reciprocal of their opponents.

At the plate:

Adam Witek is now riding a ten-game hitting streak, with a .391 batting average. Witek leads the team with 34 hits, plating 12 and scoring 15 times so far this season.

Laurn Randell leads the team at the plate with a .406 batting average. He is slugging for .507 that includes six extra-base hits. Randell has scored a team-high 22 runs so far this season, and stolen 13 bases, a league-leading effort.

Rice will enter Tuesday's tilt with a 17-6 overall record and presently riding a nine-game winning streak. The Owls sandwiched a 17-6 win over Louisiana between series sweeps over Winthrop and Marshall before their meeting with Texas State. The team has seen its share of Southland Conference contenders as well, cleaning up a home-and-away series with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, but having a bit of trouble with Sam Houston State. The Owls and Bearkats both notched 14 hits in the outing and Sam Houston led the margin of error 6-3, but Rice could not hold off the SLC and fell 13-12 in Huntsville.

Diego Seastrunk leads the flock with a .381 batting average, good for 37 hits and 20 RBI this season. Seastrunk has knocked two homeruns, one triple and ten doubles to date, while scoring 25 runs for Rice. Jared Gayhart has batted in 28 Owls this season, a team-leading effort and puts up a .379 batting average for a second place mark. Gayhart has put up 33 hits and 14 multiple base hits, including three home runs this season.

On the Mound

Kane Holbrooks, right-handed hurler, will face off with left-handed Matt Evers Tuesday night on the mound. Holbrooks has made eight appearances on the mound and will see his fourth start of the season in tomorrow's game. Holbrooks shows a 5.89 ERA after spending 18.1 innings on the mound, striking out a total 18 batters and limiting opponents at the plate to a .299 average.

Tuesday will be Evers first-career start for the Owls, although the hurler has made nine appearances on the mound. Evers' posts a 3.00 ERA in his nine innings, giving up four runs off 12 hits. The freshman's opponents average .324 at the plate.

All-Time Series

Tuesday will be the 50th meeting between Texas State and Rice, with the `Cats trailing 11-38 in the all-time series. The `Cats split the home-and -away series last season, taking game one at home 3-2 and falling at Reckling Park, 6-4. Last year, Texas State knocked off the No. 1 ranked-foe in front of a record-breaking crowd at Bobcat Field when Laurn Randell plated the game-winning RBI, taking the 3-2 victory over the Owls.