As the last stop on their farewell tour through the Sun Belt Conference, the Texas State Bobcats seek their first tournament championship in two years as they are set to begin their postseason run in the SBC Tournament at Lamson Park in Lafayette, La.
The Bobcats have had an impressive season so far as they enter the tournament with an overall record of 36-19. They secured the No. 3 seed and earned a first-round bye with their 16-8 conference record, set to face off against the No. 6-seeded James Madison Dukes.
Although the Bobcats did not face the Dukes in the regular season, their last matchup is hard to forget. Texas State suffered a tough 2-0 loss that ultimately ended their season early in the SBC Tournament Quarterfinals to James Madison last season.
The ‘Cats are red-hot coming into the SBC Tournament, having not dropped a series since their matchup against the Marshall Thundering Herd to end the month of March. They have won 15 of their past 19 past games, clicking on all cylinders as the bats are have woken up and a pitching staff, led by junior pitcher Maddy Azua, has been nothing but consistent even against top talent.
Texas State’s pitching staff has proven to be among the best in the nation, with Azua securing a Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year award alongside All-Conference first team honors, one of four Bobcats to recive All-Sun Belt Honors.
She leads the staff with an ERA of 1.82, tossing 218.2 innings so far and striking out 221 batters. Her stellar performance and consistency against some of the top teams in the nation, such as a 3-0 shutout victory against then-No.3 Texas Tech on April 15, has been a key piece to this Texas State team’s success.
On the other hand, The Bobcats have found their rhythm offensively after a cold start to the season.
Senior outfielder Keely Williams leads the team with a batting average of .385 and 28 RBI, which helped her be named among three Bobcats who earned First Team All-Sun Belt honors, alongside senior first basemen Aiyanna Coleman, who has a batting average of .333 and 49 RBI. Coleman set the record for walks in a single season earlier in conference play.
Redshirt freshman outfielder Harley Vestal earned the honor of Second Team All-Sun Belt, currently batting a .381 and has brought in 24 runs.
The SBC Tournament is single elimination, meaning a loss would send Texas State home and leave the NCAA Selection Show to decide their season’s fate for a potential at-large bid.
A win for the the Bobcats would lead to a possible match up in the semi-final against one of No. 7 Georgia Southern, who Texas State didn’t play, No. 10 Coastal Carolina, of which the Bobcats swept in their final home series of the year, or No. 1-seeded Marshall, who handed them one of their two series losses of the season.
Success in the SBC is nothing new to this Texas State program, but this year it just means more as the Bobcats look to make a lasting impression before they make their departure to the Pac-12.
They are set to open at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 6 as Texas State will take on the sixth seeded James Madison Dukes. If the Bobcats advance, their semi-final matchup will be at 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 7 and if they make the conference title game, it will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, May 9.
All games of the SBC Tournament will be available to stream on ESPN+, except for the championship that will be streamed on ESPN 2.
