By Colton Gibson
SAN MARCOS, Texas- The Texas State baseball team is vying to reach the NCAA Tournament again for the first time since the 2022 season.
The Bobcats out of San Marcos, Texas are trying to push their way into the postseason again after missing the tournament last season. The team has to first survive the competitive Sun Belt Conference schedule and tournament respectively, as the 14 schools typically produce two to four spots in the tournament. The Bobcats are currently 24-25 and sitting at 11th place in the Sun Belt with two weeks of the conference schedule left to go.
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Texas State started out with a winning record and a handful of impressive wins. A close-game against a top-5 opponent and a trip to Houston had the Bobcats feeling on top of the world.
“Things were looking good when we headed to Houston and we had some classics against UH and UT,” Texas State student Reagan Derrick said. “We only lost to the reigning champions {LSU} by five so hopes were high.”
The next few weeks did not bring the same luck as the team fell to a sweep by the Sam Houston Bearkats and a rough home loss against Texas A&M – Corpus Christi.
“This was the moment where I told myself that this season might not be as good as I expected.” Derrick said.
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Following this rough stretch, Texas State began their Sun Belt Conference schedule with a home series against the Appalachian State Mountaineers. Texas State student and baseball fan, Bradley Guilbeau, recalled the up and down start to the conference schedule.
”We had some good series’ against App State and JMU, especially after the Dukes {JMU} had just beaten ranked Coastal Carolina,” Guilbeau said. “Everything was still looking really good for the season.
This seemed to be the peak of the season as once the team faced off against the Louisiana “Ragin Cajuns” leading to another sweep.
“This is not the team that I thought I would see get swept by Louisiana,” Derrick said. “Losing those games, especially the last one where we had the lead all the way until the 7th or 8th really brought team morale down.”
While the season up to this point had been underwhelming compared to the previous two seasons, the Longhorns always seem to bring out the best in the Bobcats. The teams once again split the home-road series but the Bobcats won the season series with their win in Houston.
”It was very similar to the past two seasons as we keep winning at their house and they keep winning at ours,” Guilbeau said. “I think the win to clinch the series was one of the biggest this season.”
After dropping series to Marshall, ULM, Arkansas State and South Alabama, the Bobcats had comfortably put themselves out of the top 10 in the Sun Belt Conference, which is needed to qualify for the SBC tournament.
”We still have a little bit left to go but things are looking dire for Texas State,” Derrick said. “At this point we need to win to get in.”
With it being a long season, many players will rise and fall throughout. Seeing who is able to break out during the season could have a big effect on the playing time they received this year and potentially in the future. Perhaps the biggest surprise was Ryne Farber.
”Farber getting hurt in the middle of the season really messed with the team I think,” Derrick said. “As soon as he came back it looked like we were going to win more games.”
Transfer student, Aaron Lugo, provided the most pop with 10 home runs so far. Former freshman standout, Chase Mora, did not have the same luck in his sophomore season.
”Lugo was really exciting to watch in Houston and while his bat was hot.” Derrick said. “I honestly thought Mora was going to transfer after last season but unfortunately his production calmed down from the crazy last season.”
While the Bobcats are currently on the outside looking in, there are still two weekends of SBC play left. Texas State sits just one game out of the top-10 and are looking to surge into the tournament field. The SBC tournament will be held in Montgomery, Alabama and will begin on May 21.