Before he had even played a game in the maroon and gold, Skyler Valentine wanted to leave a mark on the team.
The redshirt senior sat out the 2018 season after transferring 55 miles northeast from UTSA. Valentine and Texas State head coach Ty Harrington sat down before the beginning of the 2019 season to discuss ways to make the most of the outfielder’s lone year at Bobcat Ballpark.
Valentine wanted to change the culture. He’d seen Texas State hover at a .491 winning percentage since his freshman year with the Roadrunners, and got a closer view while sitting out last year as the team finished the season at 30-28-1. There had to be a way to take a step forward.
Harrington agreed. It couldn’t be done overnight, but if Texas State got one percent better every day, the Bobcats would see improvement.
The parking lots all around Bobcat Ballpark were overcrowded Friday, mostly for graduation ceremonies taking place across Charles Austin Drive at Strahan Arena. But as Texas State students crossed the stage and turned their tassels, the team was graduating, too.
After losing their series opener to UT Arlington on Thursday, 5-3, the Bobcats swept the Mavericks in a doubleheader the next evening to win their first Sun Belt Conference regular season championship outright, 10-9 and 13-11.
“We all talked about ‘winning a championship, winning a championship, we have the talent to do it, we don’t care who we play, we’re going to go out and compete.’ And now that’s happened,” Valentine said. “I’m pretty sure we’ve gotten a little bit more than one percent better every single day.”
The hosts entered Thursday’s game knowing they needed just one win to clinch a share of the league title. The team was competitive, out-hitting the visitors 11-8.
But a two-RBI home run from junior second baseman Zac Cook in the ninth inning gave UTA the final push it needed to rain check Texas State’s postgame celebrations, taking the 5-3 victory.
“They were playing too hard,” Harrington said Friday. “We overplayed yesterday, we over-tried yesterday and things just didn’t work out.”
The doubleheader was windier, as balls flew all over the park — and sometimes out of it. The Mavericks struck first in game two of the series with a five-run second inning. The Bobcats countered with one run in the bottom of the frame, then five more in the fourth thanks in part to a three-run homer sent down the left field line by redshirt senior third baseman Jaylen Hubbard.
UTA jumped back in front with four runs in the seventh but didn’t stay there. A two-RBI triple from Dalton Shuffield tied the game in the eighth and a double from redshirt senior left fielder Travon Benton brought Shuffield across to give Texas State a 10-9 advantage.
Junior right-handed closer Zach Leigh struck out two batters in the top of the ninth to earn his fifth save of the season and the program’s first Sun Belt championship.
“I thought the first game today was obviously a little more dramatic because it was so intense in here,” Harrington said. “I can’t even begin to tell you guys, our guys were playing so hard.”
FINAL: #TXST 10, UTA 9
— Drew King (@drewking0222) May 18, 2019
The Bobcats secure a share of their first ever #SunBelt Championship and the No. 1 seed in the tournament @smdrsports pic.twitter.com/SotLyGs0b8
The team didn’t have long to celebrate, though. Harrington sauntered into the locker room after the game and huddled his players together.
“You are a champion,” he told them. “Now go act like one.”
The Bobcats did as they were told. Leading 10-7 in the regular season finale, Mavericks freshman righty Riley Bost began the bottom of the eighth inning walking three of the maroon and gold’s first five batters. The other two were fly outs. Sophomore cleanup hitter John Wuthrich stepped up to the plate.
The right fielder swung at the first pitch he saw, clearing the left center field fence and the bases for a go-ahead grand slam.
“I knew he was probably just trying to get back in the zone. So, I knew my best pitch, probably that I’d seen the whole series, was coming,” Wuthrich said. “I just wanted to be ready for it on time, not get too big. And I was able to luckily square it up and it went out. It was awesome.”
Texas State added two more insurance runs in the inning to take the game at 13-10 and the sole possession of the conference title.
The players high-fived each other afterward, sang “Alma Mater” with their fans and shuffled out of the arena rather quickly. It had been a long day. The first game of the doubleheader began at 4 p.m. The last game ended 42 runs and seven and a half hours later.
“I thought we showed some toughness sticking in there today,” Harrington said. “We could have been satisfied with winning and sharing the championship. But these guys didn’t do that.”
“We don’t really like to share things,” Wuthrich added.
The series win secures the No. 1 seed for the Bobcats in the league tournament with a 20-10 Sun Belt record, ending the year at 36-18 overall. It’s their first time winning a conference championship since 2011, when the team still played in the Southland Conference.
Harrington said he’ll give his players a little bit longer to celebrate this time and that they’ll reconvene on Sunday. They still have a conference tourney to play in May 21-26 in Conway, South Carolina.
Valentine crossed home plate eight times during the series. He said he couldn’t feel his feet after the final game. He might not have realized this was what it took to change the culture. But it definitely changed.
“When we come out on top, especially when we become champs, nothing can beat that,” Valentine said. “I’ll do this every day. I’d play for 18 hours straight if I had to. We all would if we could become champs at the end of the day.”
