SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State (45-12) opens the NCAA Stanford Regional on Friday against UC Santa Barbara (43-12) at 8 p.m. CT. All games of the regional will be played at Klein Field at Sunken Diamond on the campus of Stanford University.
 
Friday's game will be streamed on ESPN+ with play-by-play provided by Roxy Bernstein and Xavier Scruggs being the analyst. Fans can also catch the game on KTSW 89.9 FM with Brant Freeman on the call. Live stats will also be available for the entirety of the regional.
 
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: TXST RHP Zeke Wood (6-1) vs. UCSB TBA
 
RANKED!
For the 12th consecutive week, Texas State is ranked and is in all six major polls for the fourth straight week and eighth time this season. The Bobcats held steady in the USA Today poll at #14 while dropping slightly in the Baseball America (#16), Collegiate Baseball (#11), D1Baseball (#13), NCBWA (#15) and Perfect Game (#21) polls.
 
SUN BELT REGULAR SEASON TITLE
Texas State claimed its second Sun Belt Conference regular season title in the last three full seasons with a series opening victory at Georgia State on May 19. It is the Bobcats' fifth regular season championship overall with the 2019 crown and three straight from 2009-11 as members of the Southland Conference.
 
RECORD SETTING VICTORIES
This season has seen TXST set a program record with 45 overall wins and 26 conference victories. The overall win mark surpassed the previous best of 41 set in 2009 and matched in 2011. In league action, the 2009 and 2011 teams both won 24 contests while tying for the second most in Sun Belt history.
 
TXST IN NCAA TOURNAMENT
Texas State will be playing in its sixth NCAA Tournament and are competing in a regional outside of the Lone Star State for the first time. The Bobcats have posted a 4-10 record in the tournament with two victories in 1997 and one apiece in 2000 and 2011.
 
POSTSEASON SUN BELT AWARDS
A record-breaking season saw more broken when it came to postseason conference awards. Texas State led the Sun Belt with seven all-conference selection of which five (Dalton Shuffield, Tristan Stivors, Justin Thompson, Levi Wells, Zeke Wood) were first team selections and two (Jose Gonzalez, John Wuthrich) making the second team. Shuffield was named the league's Player of the Year, the first since Paul Goldschmidt earned the honor in 2009 in the Southland Conference, and Steven Trout was awarded the Ron Maestri Coach of the Year accolade.
 
ABOUT TEXAS STATE
Pacing the Bobcats at the plate is Shuffield with a .390 batting average, 87 hits, 76 runs, 20 doubles, 16 steals and five triples. He has also driven in 47 runs while sporting a .450 on-base percentage. Also hitting over .300 is Peyton Lewis (.306), Gonzalez (.303) and Thompson (.324). Gonzalez (10) and Shuffield (12), along with Wesley Faison (10) and Wuthrich (14), have hit double-digit homers this season.
 
Taking the mound on Friday is Wood. The right-hander is 6-1 with a 3.56 ERA and a team-high 94 strikeouts in 81 innings. He is holding opponents to a .179 batting average.
 
Leading the nation in saves is Stivors with 17. His total is also the most ever by a TXST hurler and ranks second in Sun Belt history. The Collegiate Baseball First Team All-American has struck out 72 in 52 innings while posting a 7-1 record. Triston Dixon comes in with an 8-0 record, 2.95 ERA and 56 strikeouts spanning 58 innings in 26 games. Also making 23 relief appearances has been Matthew Nicholas (2-1, 2.70 ERA).
 
ABOUT UC SANTA BARBARA
UC Santa Barbara are the Big West Conference Champions after going 27-3 in league play. The Gauchos enter on a six-game winning streak and have won 16 of their last 18. When playing at a neutral site, UCSB is 2-0 with victories over UC San Diego on Mar. 11-12 in Lake Elsinore, California.
 
Five batters are hitting over .300 led by Blake Klassen (9 HR, 24 RBI) at .356. Right behind him is John Newman, Jr. (21 RBI) at .355. Christian Kirtley (.319) has hit 11 homers with 44 RBI while Nick Vogt (.318) has plated 45 runs and Bryce Willits (.323) has driven in 33. Jordan Sprinkle has stolen 25 bases and Jason Willow has swiped 15.
 
The starter for Friday's game is still to be announced.
 
Out of the bullpen, Ryan Harvey has recorded a team-high 11 saves to go along with a 0-2 record and 3.72 ERA. Matt Ager sports a 2-0 mark, 2.92 ERA, 41 strikeouts and five saves. Making a team-high 25 relief appearances has been Michael Rice (6-1, 4.46 ERA).
 
SERIES VS. THE GAUCHOS
Texas State leads the all-time series over UCSB 2-0-1. The only previous meeting came in 2018 in the Golden State. The Bobcats won the first two games of the series before the teams played to a 4-4 tie in the series finale.
 
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