Baseball | 5/19/2015 7:44:00 PM

TROY, Ala. – Texas State earned the sixth seed in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament, and that pits the Bobcats up against No. 3 seed UL Lafayette in the opening round at 4 p.m. Wednesday. With a win, Texas State advances to play the winner between No. 2 Troy and No. 7 UT Arlington at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
                  
Game Info: Texas State (22-30-1, 14-16 SBC) vs. UL Lafayette (34-20, 18-11 SBC)
Site: Riddle-Pace Field – Troy, Ala.
Date: Wednesday – Sunday, May 20-24
Time: Wednesday – 4 p.m. | Thursday – 7:30 p.m. / 12:30 p.m. | Friday-Sunday – TBA
                                          
Probable Pitching Matchup
#21 RHP Lucas Humpal (5-6, 5.21 ERA) vs. #28 LHP Gunner Leger (6-4, 2.90 ERA)
 
The Series
UL Lafayette currently owns the series against Texas State with a 14-7 advantage. The last time these teams met, the Ragin' Cajuns took two of three, but the Bobcats beat UL Lafayette in the middle game of the series by a score of 10-4.
 
Head Coach Ty Harrington is 6-10 against UL Lafayette in his career. Texas State's last home win was this season on April 18, 2015 and the Bobcats last beat UL Lafayette on the road, 10-3, on April 26, 2014. Last meeting, however, the Ragin' Cajuns beat the Bobcats, 13-3, in a seven-inning run-ruled game. Cedric Vallieres and David Paiz each had two hits to lead the Bobcats offensively in the game with Paiz finishing with a team-high two RBI.
 
On the Ragin' Cajuns
UL Lafayette was able to earn the third seed in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament by virtue of an 18-11 conference record, which included a sweep of UL Monroe in the team's last series. In fact, UL Lafayette has won its last four conference games, including a series finale victory over No. 1 seed South Alabama.
 
The Ragin' Cajuns, always known for their offense, rank third in the SBC in batting average and first in slugging percentage during conference play. They lead the conference in home runs with 34 during conference play, are second in RBI, runs scored and total bases, third in on-base percentage, tied for sixth in hits. Where UL Lafayette ranks second in conference play, most of the time, though, it is behind the Bobcats who rank first in on-base percentage, runs scored, RBI and total bases.
 
Kyle Clement leads UL Lafayette in batting average at .345. He leads a group of Ragin' Cajuns that boast five players hitting .300 or better. As a squad, UL Lafayette is hitting .275 with 327 runs scored to just 219 for the team's opponents. The Ragin' Cajuns are always aggressive on the base paths with 66 steals this season.
 
The Bobcats will also have to find a way to knock some hits past ULL's stellar shortstop Blake Trahan, widely believed to be the best defensive shortstop in the Sun Belt Conference.
 
Texas State will face freshman lefty Gunner Leger on the mound. He leads the ULL starters in ERA at 2.90 and is 6-4 on the season with 70 strikeouts to just 15 walks. Opponents are hitting .249 against him, and he held Texas State to just three runs the last time the Bobcats saw him. Texas State did put 11 hits on him though.
 
On the Bobcats
Texas State is coming off an outstanding offensive performance against UT Arlington with a 22-run outburst to beat the Mavericks, 22-8 and clinch the sixth seed in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament. It was the most runs scored by the Bobcats since 2009 and the most in a conference game since 2008. Tanner Hill tied a school record for most RBI in a game by an individual with nine while both Cory Geisler and Cedric Vallieres tied the school record for most runs scored by an individual with five each.
 
While the Bobcats put on an impressive performance in the series finale, it was not an anomaly for the Texas State offense. The Bobcats have been hot as of late with a .332 team batting average in the last 10 games. Eight Bobcats are hitting .300 or better in the last 10 games, led by Zach Sullivan's .474 average. The Bobcats have struck 15 home runs in the last 10 games with 89 runs scored on 88 RBI. The team has a .423 on-base percentage in the stretch with 49 walks and 13 hits by pitch. The squad has 120 hits, averaging 12 hits per game in the last 10.
 
Texas State's offense will clearly be a lot for ULL to handle. The Ragin' Cajuns will have to worry about Lucas Humpal on the mound. He has a 5.21 ERA to lead all Texas State starters with 76 strikeouts to 32 walks. After him, the tournament field will likely have to face Scott Grist, who is coming off an SBC Pitcher of the Week nod for a complete-game five-hitter in a 4-1 Texas State victory.
 
A Look Ahead
After UL Lafayette, the Bobcats will face either No. 2 seed Troy or No. 7 seed UT Arlington. A win against the Ragin' Cajuns will lead to a matchup with the winner between Troy or UTA while a loss will draw the loser of that game. At this point, it's impossible to project who the Bobcats could face on Friday or further as the tournament progresses.