Baseball | 4/27/2017 8:15:00 AM

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State baseball team nears the end of a stretch of nine-straight games away from home. The Bobcats will head to Mobile, Alabama, for a three-game series April 28-30 against South Alabama. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. April 28, and all three games will be contested at Stanky Field.
 
The Bobcats (22-20, 9-9 SBC) are 2-9 in their last 11 outings, which includes a current five-game losing skid. They most recently were swept at Troy and lost midweek games at both Texas and Baylor. TXST is 5-10 on the road and hasn't won a game away from home since April 7.
 
Prior to their most-recent midweek setback to Southern Mississippi, the Jaguars (25-17, 12-6 SBC) had won five of six. Two of those came in a series victory over Arkansas State and another was a midweek triumph over then-No. 11 Mississippi State. USA is 11-4 at home.

Series Info: Texas State at South Alabama
Site: Stanky Field – Mobile, Alabama
Dates: Friday, April 28 – Sunday, April 30
Time: Friday – 6:30 pm LIVE STATS | Saturday – 6:30 pm LIVE STATS | Sunday – Noon LIVE STATS
Radio: KTSW 89.9 FM
All-Time Record: USA leads 7-2

Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday: #41 RHP Connor Reich (2-3, 4.47 ERA) vs. #39 RHP Randy Bell (3-3, 3.62 ERA)
Saturday: #36 RHP Nicholas Fraze (4-1, 4.42 ERA) vs.#26 LHP Thomas Huston (4-2, 3.54 ERA)
Sunday: #32 RHP Cam Baird (1-5, 5.05 ERA) vs. #23 LHP Tyler Carr (3-1, 4.47 ERA)

HUBBARD WINS FIRST CAREER WEEKLY ACCOLADE
Jaylen Hubbard was named the Sun Belt Conference Community Coffee Player of the Week for the first time in his career on April 17. The sophomore third baseman received the honor for games played April 10-16 after helping lead the Texas State baseball team to a series victory over ULM this past weekend. The Missouri City, Texas, native entered the weekend with one career home run, and he belted round-trippers in each of the first two games against the Warhawks. He registered two hits and at least one RBI in all four games this past week to finish with a .533 batting average (8-for-15). He tallied a .562 on-base percentage and a .933 slugging percentage, while finishing with eight RBIs and three runs scored. The hit and RBI totals are both the most in any four-game stretch in Hubbard's career. This past week also marked the first time in his career he recorded multiple hits in four-straight contests. For good measure, he also stole a base and only struck out once. Three of his eight hits came with two outs, and he finished 6-for-9 on the week with runners in scoring position. Hubbard is currently riding a career long six-game hitting streak. He has registered at least one RBI in each of those six games, which is also a career best. Hubbard joins fellow sophomore Jonathan Ortega (March 7) as the two weekly award winners from Texas State this season. Hubbard is also the fourth Bobcat to be named as the SBC Player of the Week, joining Ortega, junior Luke Sherley (March 1, 2016) and former great Tanner Hill (March 19, 2015).

SPECTRUM SPORTS TO BROADCAST 5 HOME TXST BASEBALL GAMES
Spectrum Sports and Texas State Sports Properties announced March 17 that five home Texas State baseball games were selected to air on Spectrum Sports in Texas this season. TXST is currently 2-2 in those games, having defeated Rice 13-4 (March 15) and Texas 11-10 in 10 innings (March 21). The Bobcats lost to Coastal Carolina 4-3 (March 18) and Texas A&M 9-3 (March 28). The final broadcast for TXST will be against UTA on May 18. Texas State games on Spectrum Sports are available on channel 323 in Texas. More information is available at myspectrumsports.com. Texas State Sports Properties oversees all aspects related to Texas State Athletics' rights, as well as the Texas State Bobcat Sports Network. In addition to Texas State, Learfield manages the multimedia rights for 120 collegiate properties and titles the prestigious Learfield Directors' Cup with award co-founders NACDA and USA Today. Learfield's multimedia rights encompass numerous content distribution platforms to deliver the passion of college athletics across radio, television and digital networks to fans globally. For more about the company, its 41-year history and comprehensive portfolio, visit learfieldsports.com.
 
A NEW FORMAT THIS YEAR
Beginning with the 2017 season, the Sun Belt Conference will conduct its baseball regular season with divisional play. Two divisions will be comprised of six teams each, and divisional champions will be awarded at the end of the year based on the winning percentage against all teams, regardless of division. The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship will be seeded with the division winners as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, with the No. 1 seed being awarded to the divisional winner with the best conference winning percentage. The number of teams playing in the conference championship will increase from eight to 10. This will cause two additional games to be played. The first round games will include the No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed and the No. 7 seed vs. the No. 10 seed, with both contests conducted as single-elimination games on Tuesday of tournament week. The conference tournament is set for May 23-28 at J.I. Clements Stadium on the campus of Georgia Southern.
 
BOBCATS SELECTED FOURTH IN SBC WEST DIVISION
Texas State was selected to finish fourth in the West Division of the 2017 Sun Belt Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, the league announced Feb. 8. The Bobcats collected 44 points to land one point shy of Little Rock, while Louisiana sat atop the division with 72 points. The Ragin' Cajuns also earned all 12 first-place votes. UTA was slotted second with 50 points, while Arkansas State (27 points) and ULM (14 points) were fifth and sixth, respectively. Coastal Carolina, the defending national champions, were projected as the favorites in the SBC East Division with 70 points and 10 first-place votes. South Alabama earned a first-place vote and was tabbed second with 56 points, while Georgia Southern picked up the final first-place vote and landed in third with 48 points. Troy (39 points), Georgia State (23 points) and Appalachian State (15 points) rounded out the bottom half of the East Division.