Texas baseball faces Texas State in important mid-week game

Texas Longhorns baseball (22-13) will host the Texas State Bobcats (20-13) on Tuesday at 6:30 pm CST at the Disch.

Nick Kennedy will take the hill for the Longhorns. The lefty has been excellent in mid-week games this year, and has a 2.63 ERA on the season. The sophomore will look to regain pitching command after throwing two straight walks against Oklahoma in the two batters he faced last weekend.

Kennedy faced Texas State on March 21st, and allowed five runs and eight hits in five innings. However, Kennedy also fanned five batters, and his canon for an arm could be a problem for the Bobcats tonight.

Texas’ last meet up with Texas State was a sloppy slugfest in San Marcos in which the Longhorns earned 15 hits and the Bobcats had 18. Texas lost a three run lead in the bottom of the ninth and ending up falling in the 10th inning 11-10.

Texas State is currently ranked No.103 in Boyd’s World’s “Iterative Strength” rankings. The Bobcats are coming off of losing two of three games to a bad Little Rock team last weekend. Texas State does have several solid wins on their resume, including a victory over Oklahoma State and a series win over Coastal Carolina.

The Bobcats are starting righty Cam Baird (1-2, 4.21 ERA) against the Longhorns. Baird’s best performance of the season was his last one on April 4th against Prairie View A&M. The junior threw for eight complete innings and allowed one run on five hits and one walk.

Baird in general does not walk many batters, as he has allowed seven free passes in 25.2 innings. This could be trouble for the Longhorns, who often rely on watchfulness at the plate to combat poor offensive output — Texas has walked 180 times this year compared to opponents’ 125.

Hopefully the rain stays away and tonight’s game can happen. Texas needs a victory to feel safe for now about its tournament resume, as the going gets much tougher for the Longhorns from here. Three of Texas’ last four Big 12 series are on the road, and the ‘Horns are 3-6 in away games this season.

You can catch the game on the Longhorn Network or listen in on 104.9 the Horn. This is your open thread -- Hook ‘Em!