MONTGOMERY, Ala. – For the second straight year, Texas State (34-22, 16-14 Sun Belt) will open the Sun Belt Conference Championship presented by Troy University against App State (30-22, 17-13 Sun Belt) on Wednesday. Game time is set for 9 a.m. from DABOS Park.
 
All the contests of the Sun Belt Tournament will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available.
 
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Wednesday: TXST RHP Wade Cooper (5-3) vs. APP RHP Gage Patterson (8-0)
 
ABOUT TEXAS STATE
The Bobcats ended the regular season winning seven of their last eight games that included sweeps over Arkansas State and Marshall. Those six conference victories, along with help from around the league, propelled TXST to the sixth seed in the Sun Belt Championship. Texas State is 12-18 all-time in the Sun Belt Tournament and has won six of its 10 opening games of the event.
 
Rashawn Galloway was one of three All-Sun Belt Second Team honorees for the Bobcats. The senior leads the team with a .329 batting average, 78 hits, 25 doubles and three triples. He has also recorded 51 runs, 45 RBI and 12 home runs. Jaquae Stewart, another all-conference second team selection, leads the team and is tied for second in the Sun Belt with 16 home runs and paces the team with 54 RBI.
 
The third All-Sun Belt Second Team pick was Manny Salas, who wrapped up the regular season batting .316 with 14 homers, 13 doubles and came around to score 50 times. He drew a team-high 32 walks for a .420 OBP and posted a 1.012 OPS.
 
Also leaving the yard at least 10 times this season has been Jackso Cotton (12), Chase Mora (10) and Clayton Namken (10). As a team, the Bobcats have hit a team record 108 home runs and are seven shy of tying the Sun Belt record held by New Mexico State and stood since 2004.
 
Slated to start on Wednesday is Wade Cooper. The freshman is 5-3 with five saves, a 4.56 ERA and 59 strikeouts over 53.1 innings. He has pitched in 19 games and started five games over the last half of conference play.
 
ABOUT APP STATE
The Mountaineers dropped their last two weekend series to Georgia State and Louisiana to end the regular season. They are 12-12 when playing away from home this season with a 9-6 mark in Sun Belt action. App State enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed, the highest for the program since joining the league.
 
Five players are hitting over .300 led by Charlie Evans at .377 along with 10 stolen bases. Steven Smith is right behind him with a .371 average and paces the squad with 49 RBI, 48 runs and 18 doubles. Ethan Puig is hitting .327 with a team best 71 hits. Also with a batting average over .300 is Riley Luft (.321; 44 RBI) and Jalen Seward (.315; 27 RBI).
 
Recently coming back from injury is Kameron Miller. He is hitting .292 with a team-high eight home runs and has driven in 30 runs.
 
Scheduled to take the mound on Wednesday is Gage Peterson. The All-Sun Belt First Team pick is 8-0 with a 3.12 ERA and 101 strikeouts over 78.0 innings spanning 14 starts. He is limiting opponents to a .191 batting average and has struck out at least six in 13 games.
 
SERIES VS. MOUNTINEERS
Texas State leads the all-time series 20-6. Last time the teams met was in last year's play-in game between the No. 7 & No. 10 seeds with the Bobcats winning 3-0 being a complete game effort from Bryson Dudley. That victory snapped a four-game winning streak in the series for App State.
 
Wednesday's game will be the third time the teams have met in the Sun Belt Championship. The first was a 1-0 victory for the Mountaineers on May 25, 2021.
 
For all things Texas State baseball, be sure to follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.