May 8th, 2008
Bobcats Hit the Road to McNeese

‘Cats look to halt five-game losing streak

The Texas State Bobcats look to turn things around this weekend with a three-day Southland Conference series against McNeese State. The ‘Cats are on its longest losing streak this season after falling in its past five contests and look to shift up from a fifth place conference standing with a victorious weekend.

The ‘Cats pitching staff has had a hard time adjusting to the heavy workload this season, but in the last pair of games the mound has been the team’s strong point. Zach Tritz tossed a notable game against Stephen F. Austin and Brian Borski made his first career-start against fifth-ranked Rice Tuesday night and pitched a solid four innings.

Texas State’s collective earned run average against league opponents falls at 4.81 with Tritz leading the starters with a 3.50 ERA. The right-hander leads the league in wins with an 8-2 record and has thrown three of his eight games unaccompanied. Mike Hart records a 4.03 ERA and has a second-best 77 strikeouts this season. Siers is 3-1 in league play after taking his first loss against Stephen F. Austin last weekend. The latter trio is scheduled to take their respective starting roles this weekend against the Cowboys.

McNeese will enter the series with a 7-17 league record, 13-36 overall. The Cowboys played out a ten-inning tilt with Louisiana-Lafayette Wednesday night and fell 5-4 after losing an early lead.

The Cowboys are led by league-best hitter Taylor Freeman. The sophomore is batting .386 with 48 RBI off 61 hits. Freeman also added 27 multi-base hits for a .671 slugging percentage. Collectively, MCN is batting .270 while their counterparts are 40 points higher.

Tyler Davis has taken over the Friday night role for the Cowboys with a 5.33 ERA. Davis is 3-8 on the season and has pitched 79.1 innings, allowing 87 hits and 59 runs. Opponents are battig .282 with the left-handed pitcher on the mound.

Texas State holds a 30-28 edge over McNeese State in the all-time series. Last season the ‘Cats took the series 2-1 at Bobcat Field.

Live stats will be available throughout the weekend on www.mcneesesports.com. First pitch at Cowboy Diamond is slated for 6:30 p.m.

Following the McNeese State series, Texas State will play one game at Texas-San Antonio and close out the final two games against the Roadrunners at home. The top eight league records will play in the post-season tournament and UTSA currently holds the top spot.

By AMBER ARTERBERRY
Assistant Sports Information Director