SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State baseball team is slated to head to Monroe, La., for the first time since 2014. The Bobcats (16-12-1, 4-5 SBC) are set to take on ULM (15-14, 4-5 SBC) in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series April 6-8.
TXST is 42-32 all-time against the Warhawks, which includes a 9-4 ledger since joining the SBC in 2014. The two sides have met just once in Monroe as Sun Belt opponents, with ULM capturing the series two games to one. The Bobcats outscored the Warhawks 30-29 in that series.
A LOOK AT TEXAS STATE
•   Texas State is currently 16-12-1 this after losing a three-game series to Little Rock this past weekend and splitting midweek contests with Baylor and UTSA.
•   The Bobcats won the series finale against the Trojans to snap a six-game losing streak.
Â
•   Senior
Dylan Paul leads TXST in batting average overall this season, as he is hitting .314 (33-for-105).
•   Senior
Derek Scheible is the team leader in RBIs (23), home runs (8) and runs scored (26).
•   Texas State has dropped each of its last two weekend series and is 1-5 in conference games since sweeping Appalachian State in the first week of league play.
A LOOK AT ULM
•   The Warhawks enter this weekend sitting at 15-14 overall and 4-5 in Sun Belt action.
•   ULM has yet to play to a sweep during weekend play. They took a game off both South Alabama and UTA, and won a series against Arkansas State.
•   In most-recent play, the team dropped a pair of tightly-contested battles at No. 5 Arkansas.
Â
•   Johnny DeLaCruz leads ULM with a .295 batting average this season. He is 31-for-105 at the plate with 22 runs scored and 16 RBIs. Chad Bell and Peyton Lacoste both lead the side with four home runs each, and Lacoste has a team-high 29 RBIs. Braedon Barrett leads ULM with 26 runs scored.
ESTABLISHING NEW CAREER-HIGHS
   Below is a list of all Bobcat returners who have registered new single-game career highs in 2018.
•  Â
Broc Bosse - 3.0 innings pitched (Baylor), 4 strikeouts (Coastal Carolina)
•  Â
Cole Coffey - 2 runs scored (Stephen F. Austin)
•  Â
Nicholas Fraze - 8 strikeouts (Appalachian State)
•  Â
Jaylen Hubbard - 2 doubles (Incarnate Word)
•  Â
Zachary Leigh - 7.2 innings pitched and 8 strikeouts (Appalachian State)
•  Â
Brandon Lewis - 8 strikeouts (McNeese State)
•  Â
Braden Pearson - 4 strikeouts (Rice)
•  Â
Derek Scheible - 2 home runs (UC Santa Barbara)
WEATHER WREAKING HAVOC ON TXST
•   Weather has played a role in all but two weekend series for Texas State in 2018.
•   The opening three-game set against Oklahoma State went off without a hitch, but since then the Bobcats have been unable to finish a series unaltered by weather.
•   TXST had a 58-minute rain delay early in a 1-0 loss to McNeese State on Feb. 25.
•   A contest on March 3 against Stephen F. Austin was halted after five innings of play due to persistent rain showers, and the game was finished on March 4 with Texas State winning 6-3.
•   Action at UC Santa Barbara never got underway March 10 thanks to heavy rainfall, and the game was moved to a doubleheader March 11. The Bobcats won the first game 6-5, and the two sides tied 4-4 in the series finale due to travel constraints.
•   Play was halted in the sixth inning for 1 hour, 24 minutes on March 17 against Appalachian State due to rain/lightning. TXST would go on to capture a 3-2 victory.
•   The start time for a March 23 bout against Coastal Carolina was pushed up one hour due to cold temperatures in Conway. The series finale was then played as a day-night doubleheader March 24 due to rain in the March 25 forecast.
TEXAS STATE SELECTED TO COMPETE IN 2019 SHRINERS CLASSIC
•   The Texas State baseball team is set to join a loaded field for the 2019 Shriners Hospital for Children College Classic, the Houston Astros announced March 5.
•   The tournament will be contested March 1-3, 2019, at Minute Maid Park and feature an all-Texas field of Baylor, Houston, Rice, TCU, Texas A&M and Texas State.
•   The 19th annual event will feature nine games between the six programs.
•   The official times and dates of each game will be announced at a later time.
BOBCATS LAND 3rd IN PRESEASON POLL
•   Texas State was selected to finish third in the west division of the 2018 Sun Belt Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, the league announced Jan. 30.
•   The Bobcats collected 51 points and one first-place vote to land in the top half of the division. Louisiana was chosen to win the west after picking up nine first-place votes and 68 points. UTA, the defending division champion, was slotted second after receiving 56 points and the remaining two first-place votes.
•   South Alabama earned all 12 first-place votes and was picked to win the SBC East Division with 72 points. Coastal Carolina settled into second with 59 points, and Georgia Southern landed in third with 43 points.
THE 2018 CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
•   The Sun Belt Conference will conduct its baseball regular season with divisional play for the second-straight year.
•   Two divisions are 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 2018 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.
•   Ten teams will qualify for the postseason event. 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.
•   The remainder of the tournament will be played under a double-elimation format.
•   The 2018 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship is set for May 22-27 at Russo Park on the campus of Louisiana.
-- TXSTATEBOBCATS.COM --
Â
