Coming off a pair of road wins over the weekend, the Longhorns return to Austin on Tuesday to take on Texas State.
Texas (14-9) regained its offensive form in the final two games of its weekend series against Minnesota, recording a combined 23 hits on Saturday and Sunday. The Longhorns had one of their most balanced offensive performances of the year, as Mark Payton, Brooks Marlow, Weston Hall and Alex Silver each had a three-hit game in their weekend victories.
Texas will have the opportunity to continue its hot play at the plate, as Texas State (9-14) has recorded a 5.14 team ERA this season. Additionally, the Bobcats have struggled away from home this season, going just 2-8 in road games.
Payton has been at the forefront of Texas’ offensive resurgence, as he leads the team with a .415 batting average, 15 RBIs and is hitting .429 over the course of his 12-game hitting streak. The junior right fielder was pleased with his team’s play over the weekend and credits a renewed sense of focus by the Texas lineup as a reason for improvement.
“We came together as a team after our team meeting on Saturday,” Payton said. “We knew what we had to do with our bats to become a better offensive team in terms of our production. I think we really concentrated the past couple of days and battled the whole time.”
Ben Johnson has also helped improve the Texas offense since being inserted into the lineup. The freshman has batted in a number of spots in the lineup and is hitting .333 with two home runs and five RBIs in 14 games.
The Texas State lineup has been hot lately as well, as it has scored at least five runs in six straight games and is coming off of back-to-back games scoring at least 10 runs. The Bobcats have been led on offense by Cody Lovejoy, who leads the team with a .365 batting average and Garrett Mattlage who is hitting .319 with a team-high 14 RBIs.
The Longhorns are 12-4 at home so far and will look to improve on their 3-2 record in Tuesday night games against the Bobcats. The game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. CT at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
