This is the first win over a ranked team for the Bobcats this season, but the fourth in the past two seasons.

“I really don’t think the team knew that Baylor was ranked coming into today’s game,” said head coach Ricci Woodard. “We don’t pay attention to who is in the other dugout; we just come out in play.”

Texas State started the game off with Anna Hernandez, Chandler Hall and Haley Lemons all being walked by Baylor pitcher Courtney Repka, loading the bases with just one out in the first.

Baack grounded out to shortstop, but not before driving in Hernandez to give the Bobcats a 1-0 edge. Repka escaped with what could have been a detrimental inning, by only allowing one Bobcat to score.

Texas State had a chance in the third inning to put up some more runs when they saw the bases loaded with one out. Unfortunately, Repka dug herself out of the hole by striking out the Bobcats next two batters to come away with zero runs scored.

The Bobcats held the Bears scoreless for five innings before a wild pitch got pass the catcher and Kathy Shelton scored at the plate.

A two-out single by Tiffany Wilson drove in the tying run for the Bears in the top of the seventh forcing the game to eventually go into extra innings.

With the international rule in play, Texas State had bases loaded with one out in the eighth, but the Bears turned a double play after Lindsay Matt popped up to shortstop and Macie Hair was called out at first on the same play.

The Bears were able to tack on the first run in extra innings when Bree Hanafin singled on a bunt, advancing Dani Leal on the play. Hall and the Bobcats were able to come away just giving up one run in the inning, knowing that they needed to score to stay alive in the game.

With one out on the board, Tello doubled to left field making it all the way to third on the throw, while Matt advanced home to tie the game up. With the win on their fingertips and only one out, Hall stepped to the plate laying down the perfect squeeze as Tello scored the winning run.

Credit goes to Bobcat pitcher Chandler Hall who served up a whopping 11 strikeouts in nine innings of play versus the No. 22 ranked Bears. Hall allowed just two earned runs, while walking just one batter in the 37 faced.

“We saw Baylor use the squeeze earlier in the game and it’s one of those things that it’s either going to work or not work,” said Woodard. “The Chandler today is the Chandler that we’re used to seeing. She will be ready every time she steps in the circle.”

Texas State will head to Lake Charles, La. this weekend as they get set to play McNeese State in conference play.

Texas State (8-11) is led by freshman first baseman Haley Lemons who leads the team in batting average (.373). Lemons is on a six-game hitting streak, having already tallied 19 hits and eight runs this season. Also having a solid showing at the plate is pitcher Chandler Hall. Hall is batting .304, with 17 hits. From the circle Hall is 6-5, with an ERA of 3.08 and 91 strikeouts.

Baylor (15-6) will play UTSA tonight, before facing Texas State tomorrow. The Bears are on a six-game win streak headed by Tiffany Wesley. The pitching duo of Whitney Canion and Courtney Repka hold a 13-6 record.

The two teams last met in the 2009 NCAA Regional. Baylor beat Texas State 7-4 in the second round of the regionals. The Bears lead the all-time series, 22-8, but Texas State has won two of the last three meetings.

Texas State will hit the road this weekend to continue conference play as it travels to Lake Charles, La. to play McNeese State on March 13-14.

The Bobcats kick off their Southland Conference home schedule against Nicholls on Oct. 16 and play its annual Homecoming game against Northwestern State on Oct. 23. Texas State concludes its regular season home slate against Central Arkansas on Nov. 6.

Prices for the season tickets begin at $72 for general admission. Reserve seats are on sale for $90 for adults and $60 for youth 12 and under. Bobcat Club and Texas State faculty and staff can purchase reserved seats for $84. Recent Texas State Alumni who have graduated from 2005-10 can purchase season tickets for $69 each. T-Association members can buy season tickets for $45 with a donation.

Texas State is offering two separate season ticket packages on its Champions Club Level. Platinum seats (inside the 35-yard lines) are on sale for $2000, while Gold packages (outside the 35-yard lines) are on sale for $1500.  There also are two Luxury Suites at Bobcat Stadium available this season.

In addition, Texas State is offering family packages of two adult and two children tickets for $274, while Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets for $81 each.

Fans who purchase their tickets by April 30 will receive a Texas State T-shirt, and be entered into drawings to serve as an honorary guest coach for a Bobcat home game, which includes receiving four game tickets, a sideline pass, stadium tour and participation in the pre-game coin toss.

In addition, fans will be entered into a drawing to win two (2) tickets to one of the new Legacy Luxury Suites for a Bobcat home game with food and drinks included for you and a guest.

This season, Texas State is introducing a Ticket Exchange Program in which fans can exchange unused (not torn) season tickets from any of the first five games for the same number of equal or lesser value tickets (if available) to the final regular season home game against Central Arkansas on Nov. 6.

Texas State is coming off its second straight season with a winning record and national ranking. The Bobcats finished last year with a 7-4 record, including a 5-2 Southland Conference mark and were ranked No. 25 in the final national polls by The Sports Network and the NCAA FCS Coaches.

2010 Texas State Football Schedule

Date               Opponent                                          Time

Sept. 4           @ Houston                                        TBA

Sept. 11           Southern Arkansas                     6:00

Sept. 18           Cal Poly                                           6:00

Sept. 25         #Southern Utah                              6:00

Oct. 9              *at Southeastern Louisiana           TBA

Oct. 16           *Nicholls                                           6:00

Oct. 23           *^Northwestern State                   3:00

Oct. 30           *at Stephen F. Austin                      2:00

Nov. 6            *Central Arkansas                         3:00

Nov. 13          *at McNeese State                          7:00

Nov. 20          *at Sam Houston                             TBA

Nov. 27          NCAA FCS Playoffs Begin

*Southland Conference opponent

#- Parent’s Weekend

^- Homecoming game

For more information twww.txstatebobcats.com/tickets/txst-tickets.html.

The Bobcats honored senior John Rybak and Emmanuel Bidias A’ Moute in a pre-game ceremony and celebrated the 50-year anniversary for its 1960 NAIA national championship team at halftime before the Bobcats overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half to record the victory. It is the second time in the last three years that Texas State has defeated a Southland Conference champion in a final regular season game. In addition to Saturday’s win over this year’s SLC regular-season champion, Texas State defeated UT Arlington, 97-86, to end the 2007-08 regular season.

Rybak and Bidias A’ Moute responded by combining for 41 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and four steals for the Bobcats. In addition to the two seniors, Ryan White scored his career-high of 19 points and handed out a team-high six assists, while Uriel Segura added 10 points and five assists for the Bobcats.

Rybak scored 25 points to lead the Bobcats, and his back to-back three-point field goals put the Bobcats in front 83-81 with 3:13 left to play in the second half.

Two and one-half minutes later, the Bearkats came back to tie the score at 84-84 with 51 seconds left before Cameron Johnson, who finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, made a pair of free throws to give the Bobcats a two-point lead.

On Sam Houston State’s next possession, Corey Allmond nailed a three-pointer from the top of the key to give the Bearkats an 87-86 lead with 12 seconds remaining.

On Texas State’s next possession, Ryan White missed a lay-up, but the Bobcats regained the offensive rebound. The ball was inbounded to Rybak who was fouled by Sam Houston State’s Josten Crow with four-tenths of a second left in regulation. Rybak made his first free throw to tie the score, but his second rolled off the left side of the rim to send the game into overtime.

In the overtime period, Rybak stole Preston Brown’s pass and drove the length of the court to give the Bobcats an 89-87 lead. Texas State never trailed again in the game.

After Crow made one of his two free throws, Uriel Segura hit Bidias A’ Moute for a lay-up with 3:09 left to play.

The Bobcats regained possession, but Crow stole a pass from Segura and drove down the court for a slam dunk to pull the Bearkats back to within one, but Rybak answered with another free throw. Then, he grabbed the rebound off of a missed shot by Lance Pevehouse and hit White for a lay-up to put the Bobcats up 94-90 with 1:30 left in the overtime period.

When Allmond missed a jumper from the top of the key, the Bobcats regained possession and Pevehouse fouled White, who made both of his free throws.

Sam Houston State closed the lead back to three when Ashton Mitchell hit Allmond for another trey with 45 seconds left to play.  However, Pevehouse fouled White in the backcourt again, and White made another pair of free throws.

Mitchell made two free throws to pull the Bearkats back to within 98-85, before Segura made one of his two free throws to extend Texas State’s lead back to four.

Gilberto Clavell, who led both teams with35 points, grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled by Bidias A’ Moute. He made both of his free throws before he fouled White with four seconds left to play. White clinched the victory when he made his two free throws to make the final score 101-97.

The win clinches at a fifth-place finish in the Southland Conference standings for Texas State, which ends the regular season with a 15-15 overall record and a 9-7 SLC mark this season. The Bobcats will play Southeastern Louisiana in the first round of the Southland Conference Tournament on Wednesday, Mar. 10 at 9:00 p.m.

The 15 wins give Texas State its most wins in a single season under head coach Doug Davalos and gives the Bobcats their highest win total since 2002-03 when Texas State won 17 games. The nine SLC wins also are the most by a Bobcat team since 2002-03 when Texas State had an 11-9 SLC record.

Texas State swept the series with Sam Houston State this weekend, keeping the Bearkats winless in conference play. The Bobcats came out strong in the first inning putting up four runs on SHSU in their first at-bat.

Hernandez and Chandler Hall posted back-to-back singles to give Texas State runners on first and second. After a passed ball, Hernandez advanced to third to put Texas State in scoring position. An RBI single by Haley Lemons, advanced Hernandez home and Hall to second. A ground out pushed Hall and Lemons a base each, before Hall scored at the plate on a wild pitch. Jenna Emery batted next, reaching first base on an error by the shortstop, which also saw Lemons score a run. Leah Boatright added to the Bobcats hitting spree with a double to left center, advancing Emery home and giving Texas State four runs on four hits in the first.

SHSU would not b held scoreless as Erin Burford hit a solo home run to left field to give the Bearkats their second hit and only run of the game.

McKenzie Baack gave the third inning life when she doubled to right center for her second of the season, driving in Hall on the play. The RBI double extended the Bobcats lead to 5-1.

In the fifth inning, Hernandez blasted the ball over the left field wall in the bottom of the fifth for her third homer of the season. But that was just a warm-up for the sophomore second baseman, as she stepped to the plate again in the sixth inning. This time Hernandez connected with two runners on base sending the ball over the left field wall again to give Texas State three more runs and a 9-1 run-rule over SHSU.

Chandler Hall picked up her sixth win of the season after 5.1 innings in the circle. Hall struck out six batters, allowing just two hits and one run in the game. Texas State had three batters go 2-for-3 from the plate, but Hernandez went 3-for-4 with two homers, three runs and four RBI.

Morgan Mikulin took the loss for SHSU after 5.2 innings on the mound. Mikulin fanned six batters, but allowed 11 hits and seven earned runs on the day.

Texas State returns to Bobcat Field on Wednesday, March 10 at 6:00pm, when it hosts Baylor in non-conference play.

Well then now is your chance to prove it in the first ever BobcatFans Madden Tournament.  This bracket style tournament will lavish a trophy on the baddest thumbs in town and the winner will be featured in an upcoming issue of the magazine.  Not to mention having bragging rights over, well, just about everyone.

The tournament will be held this Saturday March 6th at noon.  There are a limited number of spaces so reserve yours today.  Stop by Underground Games (across from Which Wich) to sign up or give them a call (512.697.9799) and let them know you are attending. Don’t miss the opportunity to show you are the best in San Marvelous.

GameMoreNow.com

“We are excited about the opportunity for the football championship game to be played in Frisco,” said Damani Leech, NCAA director of baseball and football. “With the quality of bids that were submitted, it was not an easy decision to make. But we feel the right decision and right place to serve as the site for the Division I football championship is indeed Frisco.”

“This is a great day for the city of Frisco, Texas,” said Tom Burnett, commissioner of the Southland Conference. “The strong community, football fan base, and dedication to putting on an event that will excite the participants in the championship game is something we are confident we can do. We are thrilled the NCAA feels the same by awarding us with this championship.”

The championship game will be the culmination of a newly expanded 20-team championship bracket. As a result of this expansion, the game will be played a few weeks later than in years past. The 2010 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game is scheduled for Friday, January 7, 2011.

The Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) includes the conferences and institutions that compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship, in addition to two conferences who choose not to participate in the football championship, the Ivy League and the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The FCS embodies a tradition of excellence through high level competition, student-athlete character and sportsmanship throughout the regular season and the championship experience.

The decision to award the championship site to Frisco, Texas, was recommended by the Division I Football Championship Committee and approved by the Administrative Committee of the Division I Championships/Sports Management Cabinet.

ESPN Story: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4946817

The progress made to date basically equates to a new football stadium addition with the Fields’ name on it (rightfully so), along with suites for TXST management and existing advertisers.  It is my understanding that the recent stadium addition is only a small portion of what will be needed to bring the stadium within FBS compliance, so where will the additional funding be generated?

It was announced during the recent UT vs. Alabama national championship football game that the President of Texas Tech University was in attendance to observe coaches for recruitment purposes. What a fantastic message of support and solidarity. TXST’s President absolutely must make continual statements of affirmation and generate the funding necessary to support the move to FBS. Without this type of leadership, attaining the FBS goal will fail.

There is a steady murmur of discontent regarding TXST athletics. “The Drive” campaign is essentially a lost cause. I have previously stated my objections concerning “The Drive” campaign. In the past year, what specific advancements have occurred to achieve the goal of moving to FBS? What momentum has been gained?

There have been recent comments questioning Coach Wright. In my opinion, questioning Coach Wright is simply a deflection of where blame should squarely be placed – on TXST’s Athletics Director. If there is one thing I’ve learned in life, it is that you can not just sit back in your recliner and wait for magic to happen. It takes hard work, personal comittment, grit, dogged determination, and someone who knows how to make it happen. Everyone I talk to is sick of excuses, so where is the accountability? Whether Coach Wright is the best man for the job cannot be established without TXST’s administration fully supporting the program. Regardless, he obviously cares about the program and has the desire to succeed. Who can deny he has the competitive spirit TXST needs?

It has been a little over a year since I have written a column for BobcatFans Magazine. I decided to give TXST’s leadership a chance to make some progress toward the move to FBS. I wrote the following list of TXST shortcomings over a year ago and in reviewing it was struck again by how little has been achieved.

• Not recruiting leadership qualified to advance athletic programs beyond their present status.
• Not having a results-based system of accountability.
• Not recognizing the importance of athletic programs in attracting top quality educators, athletes, students, and in portraying an image of excellence.
• Very limited detailed information regarding TXST iniatives is made available to the public.
• Not adopting best practices that other universities employ that are proven to be successful.
• Having numerous athletic programs and not supporting them in the manner other successful universities do.
• Not hiring a professional marketing agency.
• Not advertising outside of the San Marcos area.
• Not having radio station broadcasts of athletic events outside of the San Marcos area.
• Not having TXST-licensed promotional items available in major metropolitan areas.
• Removing the TXST name from the football uniforms.

Inaction is an action in itself!

David Eyre

loyal2youtsu@yahoo.com

I would like to acknowledge Mr. Steve Thompson of Dallas, Texas for writing his Texas State University – San Marcos Athletic Manifesto and his related petition drive.  You can review Steve’s manifesto at the following website: http://www.petitiononline.com/78666TSU/petition.html

The Lumberjacks had five players score in double figures as Eddie Williams led SFA with 20 points. Jereal Scott added 17 points and nine rebounds, Walt Harris netted 14 points, Orren Tims came off the bench to add 11 and Denzel Barnes scored 10.

Cameron Johnson led Texas State with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Uriel Segura netted 16 points and Emmanuel Bidias A’ Moute tallied 15 points off the bench.

Williams scored seven of his points in the first 4:35 of the game to give Stephen F. Austin a 9-5 lead. But, Texas State answered with an 8-0 run to take a 13-9 advantage.

Texas State held a 25-22 advantage with 4:17 left in the opening period before the Bobcats used an 8-1 run to extend their lead to 10 (33-23) with 1:12 left in the opening half.

But, SFA regained the momentum heading into halftime when Barnes scored five straight points with a pair of free throws and a 30-foot three-point shot to make the halftime score 33-28.

Then, after trailing 37-30 with 18:52 left to play in the game, the Lumberjacks used an 8-0 run to regain a one-point advantage. The two teams exchanged leads for time before Williams scored a lay-up off a steal to give SFA a 44-41 lead.

The Lumberjacks never trailed again as Barnes nailed another three-pointer and Williams and Tims made back-to-back lay-ups to give SFA a 51-43 lead with 13:24 left in the game.

Segura nailed a three-point shot for Texas State to pull the Bobcats back to within 53-51, Williams answered with another three-pointer of his own.

Bidias A’ Moute made a pair of free throws and a dunk shot before Johnson scored two more points to pull the Bobcats to within 58-57 with 7:23 left to play.

The two teams battled back and forth during the next three minutes before Tims scored four more points on a lay-up and a free throw to make the score 67-62. Scott added two more free throws to extend the lead to seven.

Scott made one of his two free throws a minute later as SFA held a 72-64 lead with 1:09 left in the game. The Bobcats closed to within five at 75-70 when Johnson added a lay-up off an offensive rebound, but Harris closed out the scoring with a pair of free throws with 22 seconds left to make the final score 77-70.

Stephen F. Austin improves to 19-7 overall and 9-4 in Southland Conference play with the win, while Texas State falls to 12-15 overall and 6-7 in league games.

Texas State travels to Northwestern State on Saturday in a game that tips off at 2:00 p.m., while Stephen F. Austin returns home to play host to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.