Sam Houston State, Texas State Represent Southland in NCAA Tournament
FRISCO-Texas ? The Southland Conference has placed two teams in an NCAA regional, marking the sixth time the league has had multiple tournament participants. Sam Houston State earned the conference’s automatic bid after winning the Southland tournament at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi last week. Texas State, which opposed the Bearkats in the title game, received an at-large invitation.
Making its sixth overall regional appearance and third in a row, Sam Houston State (36-22) will play in the NCAA Houston Regional for the second consecutive year and will be the No. 4 seed, which means it will open against No. 1 Rice at Reckling Park. That game will be played Friday at 6 p.m., Central. The other two teams in Houston ? No. 2 Kansas State and No. 3 Xavier ? are making their first appearances in the NCAA tournament. They will play Friday at 2 p.m. The winner of the Houston Regional will advance to play the winner of the Baton Rouge Regional, which features LSU, Minnesota, Baylor and Southern.
Texas State (41-15), which was the Southland Conference regular-season champion, will travel 31 miles up the road for the NCAA Austin Regional at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The Bobcats, which are making their first NCAA appearance since 2000, are the No. 2 seed and will play No. 3 Boston College at 1 p.m. Texas, the No. 1 national seed, will play No. 4 seed Army at 6 p.m. This is the fourth all-time regional appearance for Texas State. The winner of the Austin Regional advances to play the winner of the Fort Worth Regional, which includes Texas Christian, Texas A&M, Oregon State and Wright State.
Sam Houston First League Team to Earn Automatic Berth Three Straight Seasons
The Bearkats are the second Southland Conference team to make tournament appearances in three consecutive years. Lamar was the first in 2002, 2003 and 2004, earning an at-large berth in 2003. Sam Houston is the first league member to make three consecutive tournament appearances by securing the league’s automatic berth by winning the conference tournament.
Multiple Southland Teams in the Tournament
The last time the Southland placed multiple teams in the tournament was 2005 when UTSA and Northwestern State earned berths. The league has placed multiple teams in a regional five times previously, getting two teams in 1994, two in 1999, three in 2000, two in 2003 and two in 2005.
Years with Multiple Southland Teams in the NCAA Tournament
1994 Northwestern State
UTSA (auto)
1999 Louisiana-Monroe
Texas State (auto)
2000 Louisiana-Monroe
McNeese State
Texas State (auto)
2003 Lamar
McNeese State (auto)
2005 Northwestern State
UTSA (auto)
2009 Sam Houston State (auto)
Texas State
Southland in the NCAA Tournament
Southland Conference teams have made 46 appearances in the NCAA tournament and are 31-92. Of the 12 schools currently in the conference, eight have made 32 trips to the NCAA tournament and are 22-64 in those games.
Sam Houston in the Tournament
This year marks the sixth NCAA tournament appearance for Sam Houston State and the third consecutive. The Bearkats first made a regional in 1987 when it defeated Oklahoma and Indiana. Its first tournament appearance as a member of the Southland was in 1989.The Bearkats made it back in 1996, when it pulled off a shocking victory over No. 2 Miami, 5-4, in Austin. The Bearkats’ best NCAA Regional performance came in 2007 at Ole Miss when they posted come-from-behind victories over Troy (5-4) and Southern Mississippi (12-11 in 11 innings) to reach the finals before falling to Mississippi. Overall, the Bearkats are 5-10 in the tournament overall, but are 3-8 in tournament appearances as a member of the Southland Conference. Last year in Houston, the Bearkats lost 3-2 to Rice and 13-3 to Texas.
Bearkat Head Coach Mark Johnson
Sam Houston head coach Mark Johnson is 11 victories away from becoming the 37th coach in NCAA Division I baseball history to post 1,000 career coaching victories. The longtime coach at Texas A&M, Johnson ranks No. 17 among active NCAA Division I baseball head coach in career victories with a 24-year record of 989-502-3.
Johnson coached the Aggies to 13 regional appearances and led teams to the College World Series in 1993 and 1999. Now in his third season in Huntsville, Johnson has led the Bearkats to an undefeated record in 12 Southland Conference tournament games to earn the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA tournament all of his three years at the school.
Texas State in the Tournament
This is the first trip to the NCAA tournament for Texas State since 2000 when it played in the Waco Regional. The Bobcats downed Baylor 6-0 in the opener before falling to San Jose State and Florida. This is the fourth regional appearance in Texas State history. In three previous trips, the Bobcats are 3-6 going back to 1997. That year, Texas State opened with a 7-6, 11-inning victory over Texas Tech in Lubbock before dropping a 7-1 decision to Nevada. The Bobcats rebounded to beat Clemson 12-7 before getting eliminated by Rice 13-9. Texas State went 0-2 in the 1999 regional at the University of Houston.
Bobcat Head Coach Ty Harrington
Texas State head coach Ty Harrington was voted the Southland Conference Coach of the Year in 2009 after leading the Bobcats the program’s third regular season championship. This is the second time Harrington, a former player at the University of Texas, has directed Texas State to the NCAA tournament. The first time was in 2000, his first season in San Marcos. Harrington is 337-250 in his 10th season at Texas State.
Bearkats Win Southland Tournament
Sam Houston State defeated Texas State 7-1 in the championship game of the 2009 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament Saturday at Whataburger Field to become just the second team to win three consecutive Southland tournament championships.
Trinity University won the first three conference tournament titles in 1964, 1965 and 1966 and no university has been able to do it since. That is, not until Mark Johnson became the head coach at Sam Houston State in the summer of 1996. The Bearkats have not lost any of the 12 Southland tournament games under Johnson and Saturday’s win netted the school’s fourth tournament championship. That figure leads all Southland programs, breaking a tie with Trinity and Texas State.
The Bearkats beat Southeastern Louisiana 9-2 and needed 11 innings to get past UTSA 8-6. Sam Houston beat Southeastern La. 7-2 to get to the championship game against Texas State, which beat Stephen F. Austin 9-2 before a pair of wins over Lamar (10-1 and 13-2) sent it to the championship game. The Southland Conference regular season champion has won the league tournament just twice since 1993.
Shelton Named Tournament MVP, Three Other Bearkats Named to All-Tournament Team
Sam Houston State pitcher Matt Shelton improved to 7-0 after a relief victory in the championship game, his second of the tournament. He struck out eight and did not walk a batter in 77 pitches. His other win came against UTSA on Thursday. In 9 1/3 innings he pitched in the tournament, he did not allow a run and finished with 12 strikeouts, including eight in the title game. His efforts earned him Most Valuable Player honors for the tournament. Joining him on the all-tournament team from Sam Houston State were catcher Mark Wyatt, Adam DeLaGarza and pitcher Sean Weatherford also received mention. Texas State had first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, shortstop Jason Martinson and outfielder Bret Atwood named to the list.
2009 Southland All-Tournament Team
Catcher: Mark Wyatt, Sam Houston St.
First Base: Paul Goldschmidt, Texas St.
Second Base: Ty Summerlin, Southeastern La.
Shortstop: Jason Martinson, Texas St.
Third Base: Chris Dunkin, Lamar
Outfielder: Adam DeLaGarza, Sam Houston St.
Outfielder: Anthony Moore, Lamar
Outfielder: Bret Atwood, Texas St.
DH: Brian McCants, Southeastern La.
Pitcher: Sean Weatherford, Sam Houston St.
Most Valuable Player: Matt Shelton, Pitcher,
Sam Houston St.
Texas State’s Goldschmidt Named Southland Player, Hitter of the Year
Texas State first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was named the Southland Conference Player and Hitter of the Year. The junior from The Woodlands, Texas (The Woodlands), who becomes the first Southland player to repeat as hitter of the year since McNeese State’s Ben Broussard in 1998 and 1999, is ranked among the league’s top 10 in nine offensive categories and led the league in runs batted in (84), walks (54) and sacrifice flies (nine). Goldschmidt is tied for the league lead in home runs (17), third in runs scored (68), fourth in total bases (146), fifth slugging percentage (.679) and on-base percentage (.475), and was tied for sixth in doubles (19). He picked up first-team all-conference honors this season after batting a modest .355 during the regular season, the fifth-best average on his team. In 31 conference games, his average improved to .377.
Bobcat Pitcher Holbrooks Named League’s Top Pitcher
Texas State right-handed pitcher Kane Holbrooks dominated on the hill for the Bobcats this season and was rewarded by being selected the conference pitcher of the year. He led the Southland with 10 wins and boasted a 3.34 earned run average, the second lowest in the league. The senior from Fort Worth, Texas (Aledo), is tied for second in innings pitched (94.1) and is 14 starts. Holbrooks has struck out 56 batters this season and has limited his opponents to a .283 batting average. The first-team all-conference selection has pitched one complete game this season.
Lamar’s Harrington Named Conference Freshman of the Year
Lamar right-handed pitcher Eric Harrington was named the conference freshman of the year after leading the Southland in ERA for nearly the entire season. In 14 starts, he was 8-1 and maintains the conference’s lowest ERA at 3.01. In 83.2 innings pitched, he fanned 63 batters, which ranks 10th in the conference. The freshman right hander from Groves, Texas (Port Neches-Groves), has caught 25 batters looking at strike three to tie for fifth and his win total is tied for second in the league while his innings pitched rank eighth.
Newcomer of the Year Goes to Texas State’s Prestridge
Texas State designated hitter Keith Prestridge, a junior college transfer from Angelina College in Lufkin, Texas, finished the regular season with a .384 batting average, which was Texas State’s second best. His batting average ranks 10th in the conference. In 50 games, the junior from Houston, Texas (Cy-Fair), has driven in 49 runs on 60 hits and earned second-team all-conference honors at designated hitter.
Texas State Skipper Harrington Named Coach of the Year
After guiding the Bobcats to their third conference regular-season championship, Texas State head coach Ty Harrington was named the Southland coach of the year for the first time in his 10-year career at Texas State. The Bobcats, which have climbed as high as No. 25 in the national polls this season, are 41-15 overall and were 24-7 in league play to grab the top seed in last week’s conference tournament. He guided the Bobcats to their third Southland tournament championship in 2000, his first season in San Marcos.
Texas State Places Seven on All-Conference Teams
Texas State placed a league-best seven student-athletes on the three all-conference teams. Goldschmidt and Holbrooks earned first-team honors, while outfielders Spenser Dennis and Tyler Sibley, catcher Ben Theriot and Prestridge earned second-team honors. Outfielder Bret Atwood was named to the third team and the Bobcats had another three student-athletes earn honorable mention for receiving votes from at least 25 percent of the voters.
UTSA outfielder Michael Rockett, who was named one of three first-team outfielders, became a four-time all-conference selection. The 2008 conference player of the year earned first-team honors each of the last two years after earning second-team honors in 2006 and 2007. Other repeat selections include McNeese State shortstop Shon Landry and catcher Taylor Freeman, UT Arlington outfielder Michael Choice, Stephen F. Austin pitcher Erich Lehmann and Lamar outfielder Tyler Link. Landry, Freeman and Choice joined Rockett on the first team. Lehmann earned second-team honors and Link earned third-team honors.
Also earning first-team kudos were Sam Houston State second baseman Braeden Riley, UTSA third baseman Lance Brown and UT Arlington outfielder Matt Otteman, designated hitter Andrew Kainer and pitcher Nathan Long.
Lamar and UT Arlington, which had four of its players earn first-team honors, both had five all-conference selections, while McNeese State, Sam Houston State and UTSA had four garner honors. Stephen F. Austin had three selections, Northwestern State had two and Central Arkansas and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi each had one selection.