Final Nonconference Game Tuesday

The Texas State baseball team will have its final midweek tune-up before heading to the postseason when they host Prairie View A&M, Tuesday night at Bobcat Field. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. against the Panthers.

Texas State (31-19; 21-9 SLC) enters Tuesday’s contest in its 10^th 30-win season under head coach Ty Harrington. The Bobcats have taken nonconference wins over Houston, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Baylor this season and look to continue the stellar season. The Bobcats will meet PVAMU for the 37^th time on Tuesday and have not lost a game to the foe since Apr. 16, 1987.

The Bobcats are coming off a 1-3 week that saw the team fall 10-5 to a ranked TCU squad and drop two of three games to Nicholls in Southland Conference play, all resulting in the loss of a national ranking.

Prairie View (12-34; 6-17 SWAC) is on a five-game losing streak and has only five of its past 20 contests. In SWAC action, the Panthers took a 19-9 victory over Grambling State on May 2 to end a three-game span without a win.

Texas State will pit a .309 batting average against Prairie View’s .282 collective mark. Red shirt junior Clint Vest has hit safely in the past five games, including a 2-for-4 effort against TCU, and leads the team hitting .375. Six Bobcats follow hitting .300 or better, including Kyle Kubitza who has hit a team-best nine home runs.

For the Panthers, Jason Thomas leads the charge, hitting .331 with nine hits for extra bases and 27 RBI. Evan Richard and Kyle Bible have each tagged pitcher’s for a team-best three home runs.

Texas State’s pitching staff shows a 4.73 ERA led by reliever Jeff McVaney’s 1.86 ERA. In 19.1 innings pitched, the sophomore is 1-0 with 11 strikeouts.

Prairie View will counter with a 7.15 staff ERA. Benjamin Blackburn is atop the list with a 3-9 record and 5.62 ERA in 88.0 innings pitched.

Following Tuesday’s game, Texas State will have a short one-day rest before hosting UT Arlington in its final SLC series of the season. First pitch of the three-game series is set for Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Friday’s game will begin at 6:30 p.m. with Saturday’s season finale set to begin at 1 p.m.

Live stats for this week’s events will be available on the Texas State athletics web site, www.txstatebobcats.com. A live broadcast will be available for Tuesday’s game and the first two games of the UTA series.