No. 11 Texas State Baseball (44-11, 26-4 Sun Belt) has had a record-breaking season and will look to continue its success in the Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament as the No. 1 seed. The first game for the Bobcat baseball squad in the conference tournament is slated for Wednesday, May 25, 2022, against the No. 10 seed, the University of Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks (20-34-1, 9-20-1 Sun Belt). The first pitch is set for 7:30 p.m. in Montgomery, Alabama at Riverwalk Stadium.
The maroon and gold finished the regular season on a ten-game win streak, sweeping Georgia State in Atlanta to finish regular-season conference play. With momentum going into the post-season, the Bobcats are ranked for the 11th consecutive week, as high a No. 9 ranking in the Collegiate Baseball poll.
Going 26-4 in conference play, the Bobcats boast the second-best conference winning percentage in Sun Belt history – the feat leading Bobcats to conference honors. Seven Bobcats were named to the all-conference team: senior shortstop Dalton Shuffield, senior third-baseman Justin Thompson, sophomore right-handed Saturday night starting pitcher Levi Wells, junior right-handed Friday night starting pitcher Zeke Wood and senior right-handed closing pitcher Tristan Stivors were all named to the Sun Belt Conference first team. Junior left-fielder Jose Gonzalez and senior right-fielder John Wuthrich made the second-team list.
Additionally, Shuffield earned Sun Belt Player of the Year honors while head coach Steven Trout earned the honors of Sun Belt Coach of the Year.
Shuffield broke a plethora of records during the season, setting career records at Texas State for extra-base hits (84), doubles (53) and triples (12). During the 2022 regular season, the shortstop led also the conference in runs (74), hits (84), doubles (20) and triples (5).
Earning his first Coach of the Year award, Trout led his Bobcats to a program-record 44 wins during the regular season and the Sun Belt Conference regular-season title.
The Sun Belt Conference regular-season champions, Texas State Baseball will kick off the Sun Belt Conference tournament against ULM at 7:30 p.m. at Riverwalk Stadium. Earlier this season, less than three weeks ago, the Bobcats completed a series sweep over the Warhawks in Monroe with a combined score of 19-9.
If the Bobcats win, they will play at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. If the Bobcats lose, their next game will be at 12:30 p.m. at Riverwalk Stadium.
Sports Reporter Kyle Owen will be live-tweeting throughout the tournament. Follow along on Twitter for updates during the Sun Belt Conference Championship.