March 27, 2008

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SAN MARCOS - Raring to leave the remains of Tuesday's dropped decision behind, the Texas State Bobcats look to pick up a second victory over Southland Conference rival Sam Houston State this weekend as they travel to Huntsville for a three-game series pitted against the Bearkats. The two teams met earlier in the season opening - Al Ogltree Classic in Edinburg where the `Cats took a 5-4 victory, however both teams will embrace the series with a 4-2 league mark. The standing places Texas State and Sam Houston State in a three-way tie with Texas-San Antonio. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday night and Saturday and Sunday's game is slated for 2 p.m. and 1 p.m. respective start at Sanders Stadium.

The Bobcats

Texas State continues to pound away at the plate, boasting a .317 overall batting average with seven of its starting nine hitting over .300. In Southland action alone, the `Cats put forth a .384 collective average and a .550 slugging percentage, dominating the board posting an 88-60 hitting margin against conference opponents. The mark includes an 11-extra base gap, good for 16 doubles, two triples and six homeruns to date, an average of 12 hits per game. Texas State has split time with the SLC-East and West this season, facing Nicholls State and Texas-Arlington for a 4-2 league showing.

At this time last season, the Bobcats were 13-7, but the team is yielding positive returns from its 2008 non-conference slate, entering the weekend just one win short of last year. The Bobcats opened with a 3-0 showing before seeing its first loss to Houston that spurred a trio of dropped decisions. Following the defeated streak, Texas State moved ahead to win five straight games, including a 14-3 pounding over Texas Tech and a sweeping effort over Northern Illinois.

Laurn Randell posts a .415 batting average and a .553 on base percentage to lead Texas State's offense, good for the number two spot in conference behind SHSU's Bobby Verbick. Randell has stolen a career-high 13 bases, a mark that tops the SLC charts as well. To date, the sophomore has notched 27 hits, three doubles and one homerun, all good for 16 total RBI. Adam Witek, who is hitting .388 and slugging for .453 falls in at sixth overall in the league with his efforts. Witek has knocked a team-high 35 hits to date, a fourth place setting in the league and is currently riding an 11-game hitting streak.

The Bearkats

Sam Houston State will enter the tilt with Texas State off just one day of rest after hosting Texas Southern Wednesday night. The Bearkats are batting .344 collectively as a team with a 13-9 showing and .302 in Southland action alone, placing them in a three-way tie with Texas State and Texas-San Antonio with a 4-2 league mark.

The `Kats put together a handful of consecutive victories earlier this season that included a 13-12 home opening victory over then ranked No. 6 Rice followed by a 21-6 lashing over Prairie View A&M. The team then put up back-to-back 9-4 outings over St. Louis and South Dakota State before entering conference play. Sam Houston opened at home with a sweep over Central Arkansas before dropping two straight to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The `Kats edge the final game out for an 11-9 win over the Islanders.

Verbick heads the Bearkats bat with a .417 average at the plate, slugging for .819 percent. Verbick has posted seven of the squad's 18 combined home runs and heads the teams RBI column with 23, scoring just as many runs for the team also. Todd Sebek is batting .385 altogether, but leads the team in Southland action, batting well over the .400 mark. Sebek is 8-for-19 in league action, with three doubles and six RBI and perfect on the diamond with five successful stolen base attempts.

All-Time Series

Texas State and Sam Houston State will have its 80th meeting in game three of the series this weekend, spanning from 1985 to the present. The Bobcats lead the all-time series by five games, 41-36 after taking two wins at Bobcat Field last season. The `Cats shutout the Bearkats 12-0 in game one before weather forced the foes to bang out a double-header the following day. Sam Houston plated just one run in game two, good enough to take the victory in the taut match, but Texas State closed out the series with a 5-1 win.

On the Mound

Texas State will go with the trio of Mike Hart, Steven Siers and Zach Tritz to open on the mound this weekend at Sam. Tritz spouts a 2.57 ERA in SLC action to lead the group with Hart falling in line allowing just 2.93 earned runs. Siers has been rocked for 12 runs off 19 hits for a 10.24 Southland ERA. The troupe combines for 38.3 of Texas State's 53 innings spent on the hill, limiting their opponents to a combined ten total multi-base hits.

Sam Houston State will pit Ryan Teppera, Will Skelton and Zach Neal against Bobcats. Skelton, the lone left-hander in the line-up has an ERA of 4.29. The hurler started in Texas State pre-season meeting with Sam Houston State and battle for 4.0 innings, giving up four runs, all of which were earned off eight hits. Tepera will open the series with a current ERA of 4.50 and Neal will close on Sunday, spouting a 3-0 record and a 4.78 ERA. The Bearkat three-some have each allowed double figure hits, runs and earned runs to date.

On Deck

Texas State will return home and kick off a four-game home stand that will begin with a 6:30 p.m. tilt with TCU. The Bobcats met the foe March 5th and played out its longest game of the season, a four-hour 11-inning loss. Following the decision, Texas State will then host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi April 4-6 at Bobcat Field to continue SLC play.