Thanks to coach Ty Harrington, Texas State finally is where it has always wanted to be in the Southland Conference, thus it’s too bad the Bobcats are headed to the Western Athletic Conference in 2013.
What Harrington has accomplished with the Bobcats the past few seasons is extremely impressive. Ironically, the success has come with the construction of a sparkling new ballpark nestled on the base of the Texas Hill Country.
The Bobcats made a statement in 2009 with a fabulous 24-7 conference finish, ending the campaign with a trip to the Austin Regional. Texas State then again won the SLC regular season title in 2010 with a 23-10 record.
In 2011, it was much the same for Harrington’s Bobcats. They went 24-9 in the SLC, capturing yet another regular season title. This time, they reached the NCAA postseason, almost reaching the Austin Regional title game.
With Jeff McVaney, Tyler Sibley, Casey Kalenkosky and others back this spring, the Bobcats hope to take the next step and reach an NCAA Super Regional. They have the personnel to accomplish that goal.
While the Bobcats lead the SLC, Southeastern Louisiana, another team with an excellent coaching staff, is hot on their heels at the No. 2 spot.
Jay Artigues, like Harrington, has made some impressive strides with his program the past few seasons. They finished the 2011 campaign with just a 35-22 record. But in ’10, the Lions compiled a very impressive 40-19 record, narrowly missing an NCAA at-large bid.
Outside of the Bobcats and Lions, SFA has high hopes with the return of Hunter Dozier and others, while usual suspects Lamar and Sam Houston State also are expected to be in the mix for the conference crown.
We take an inside look at the Southland Conference.
HOW THEY STACK UP
Overall/conference won-loss records from 2011 indicated; expectation level denoted -- College World Series= CWS, NCAA Super Regional= SR, NCAA Regional= R