San Marcos, Texas – The 2011 Texas State baseball team left its mark on the program's history after winning both the Southland Conference regular season and tournament championships, qualifying for an NCAA Regional and tying the team record for wins in a season.

The Bobcats began the season strong, going 19-7 through the team's first 26 games, including a stretch of seven straight wins from late February to early March. That early success set the pace for a Bobcat team that finished the regular season with a 35-20 overall record and 24-9 Southland Conference mark to earn the program's third consecutive SLC regular season championship.

Along the way, Texas State had a 13-2 victory over No. 16 Baylor and six series sweeps – Akron, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Houston, Sam Houston State, UTSA and Nicholls. The Bobcats also earned a spot in a top-25 national poll during the last three weeks of the regular season, ranking No. 25 in the Baseball America poll.

Five Bobcats earned spots on All-Southland Conference Teams, led by pitcher Carson Smith who also took home the Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year award for the second straight season. Head coach Ty Harrington earned his second Southland Conference Coach of the Year nod, and in addition to Smith, first baseman Casey Kalenkosky, third baseman Kyle Kubitza and second baseman Tyler Sibley each earned All-SLC First Team honors. Two players also made the All-SLC Second Team in left fielder Jeff McVaney and catcher Andrew Stumph.

In addition to being named the SLC Pitcher of the Year, Smith also became the third Texas State all-American when he was named a Louisville Slugger All-American Second Team selection following a season in which he posted a 9-3 record, 1.99 ERA and 129 strikeouts in a team-high 113 1/3 innings on the mound. Smith held opponents to a .216 batting average collectively and allowed just two home runs during the season. The 6-foot-5 right hander's ERA and strikeouts this season were both single-season bests for the Texas State baseball program.

In the postseason, the Bobcats got off to a slow start with a loss in the first round of the Southland Conference Tournament, but Texas State rebounded with five consecutive wins to capture its fourth SLC Tournament championship and first since 2000. The No. 1-seed Bobcats lost to Nicholls in the opening round before consecutive victories against Southeastern Louisiana, Sam Houston State and Nicholls, twice, to reach the championship game against No. 2-seed Stephen F. Austin.

In the SLC championship game, the Bobcats used a dominant four-hit shutout pitching performance from Joseph Dvorsky along with a powerful offense to take a 9-0 victory, becoming the first team to come back and win five games in the tournament after losing an opening-round game since the tournament was changed to an eight-team format. Bret Atwood, Dvorsky, Christian Gallegos, Kalenkosky and Sibley each earned SLC All-Tournament Team honors, while Kalenkosky was also named the tournament's MVP.

The win guaranteed Texas State a spot in the 64-team NCAA Regional field for the second time in three years and fifth time ever. Texas State earned a No. 2 seed in the Austin Regional along with No. 1-seed Texas, No. 3-seed Kent State and No. 4-seed Princeton.

After dropping the first game of the regional against No. 24 Kent State, 4-2, in 11 innings, the Bobcats rebounded with a 3-1 win over Princeton for the team's first NCAA Regional victory since 2000. Texas State then met No. 5 Texas in an elimination game and had the host team on the ropes with a 2-0 lead after four innings, but the Longhorns rallied and took a 3-2 lead heading into the ninth inning. Texas State pushed across a run to tie the game at 3-3, but the Longhorns responded with a run in the bottom of the ninth to eliminate the Bobcats from the postseason.

Texas State finished its 2011 campaign with a 41-23 overall record, tying the program's record for wins in a season set in 2009. The Bobcats were especially tough to beat at home, finishing with a 28-9 record at Bobcat Ballpark when playing in front of the San Marcos fans.

The Bobcats also set several new team records during the 2011 season, including a pair of pitching records, strikeouts (494) and ERA (3.73), along with at-bats (2,177) and stolen bases (97).

Seniors who completed their eligibility at Texas State included Atwood, Brian Borski, Lee Colon, Dvorsky, Jim McGonigle, Fielding Pittman and Clint Vest.