No. 5 Texas Returns Home to Face Texas State in Midweek Showdown

The No. 5 Texas Longhorns (23-3) return home to Austin and kick off another five-game homestand, welcoming the Texas State Bobcats (12-15) to UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Tuesday evening.
These two teams enter Tuesday night's contest in the midst of drastically different seasons. For the Longhorns, they are riding a six-game winning streak that has pushed their record to an impressive 23-3.
Fresh off a sweep of the Missouri Tigers that pushed their record in SEC play to 8-1, they will look to extend that winning streak to seven games. As for the Bobcats, they've been a bit up and down so far. Their ability to pull off the big upset win in this one will depend on which version shows up come first pitch.
How to watch/listen:
Tuesday April 1 at 6:30 p.m. CT - SEC Network+/TexasSports.com/Audio
A look at Texas State's season so far
Texas State has ridden a roller coaster of results so far this season. Coming out of the gate red hot, the Bobcats started 4-0 and picked up a win over Oklahoma State. Since then, though, they have gone 8-15, featuring a six-game losing streak at one point.
Texas State by the numbers:
- Record - 12-15
- Runs scored - 125
- Runs allowed -185
- Team Avg. - .253
- Team Avg. against - .249
- Team ERA - 6.18
Texas State wins this game if...
It can take advantage of a Texas lineup that's banged up. The Longhorns will be likely without star right fielder Max Belyeu for the rest of the regular season, while Rylan Galvan and Adrian Rodriguez are considered day-to-day with injuries of their own.
For the Bobcats, the opportunity to take advantage of a potentially weakened Texas lineup is one they must capitalize on. Upsets are commonplace in midweek games, as the Longhorns have learned this season. If Texas State can stifle the Longhorns bats, then it could very well pick up the marquee victory.
Texas wins this game if...
It can get a solid performance from its pitching staff, allowing the lineup to adjust to a potential new look. Losing a player of Belyeu's caliber is no easy task for even the best teams. Fortnuately for the Longhorns, though, they at least on paper have the depth needed to weather the storm.
That being said, the offense could see a few hiccups at first in the process of adjusting -- especially if both Galvan and Rodriguez don't play. To counter this the pitching needs to continue to be lights out. While the Bobcats' numbers haven't been out of this world so far, anything can happen in a midweek.
If the Longhorns aren't careful, they could drop their second midweek game of the year ahead of a massive series against the Georgia Bulldogs.