Bobcats hoping to come together in 2022 season

Last season wasn’t easy for anybody on the Texas State baseball team.

The Bobcats entered the year riding the momentum of winning the 2019 Sun Belt regular season championship and starting off strong in a 2020 season that was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, posting a 14-4 record. The team returned most of its talent, including all but one of its seniors, resulting in high expectations for 2021 — Texas State was predicted to finish in first place in the conference’s West Division in last year’s Sun Belt Preseason Coaches Poll.

But the pandemic took a toll on the team’s chemistry. Teammates were told to keep their distance from each other to lower the risk of spreading the virus, which made it difficult for the unit to be as tight-knit as years past. When the maroon and gold hit adversity, be it a key player getting injured, the team losing its grip on a lead or an opposing defense keeping them off the bases, the Bobcats weren’t always well-equipped to handle it.

The standards the program set for itself weren’t being met and as the year went on, the team began to lose its confidence. After starting conference play at 9-6, Texas State closed out the year with nine consecutive losses.

“I think it was really just the attitude of our team, I think near the middle, towards the end, that’s when we were kind of slowing down a lot,” senior shortstop Dalton Shuffield said. “And I think we were just going into games pretty timid and we were just not looking at the other guy and going ‘Hey, I know I’m better than you and I know that we can do something to beat these guys.’ And I mean, we beat some really good opponents. But then we lost to some opponents that we probably should have beat.”

Head coach Steven Trout is trying to change that mindset in 2022. The team won’t have as much experience after graduating 10 seniors, many of them starters, and aren’t coming into the year with the same amount of hype — the Bobcats were voted to finish seventh overall in the 2022 Sun Belt Preseason Coaches Poll and didn’t have anyone selected to the preseason all-conference team.

But Trout’s hoping a closer bond between players will help get Texas State back to where it was pre-pandemic.

“From the very first meeting last year, it was, ‘Hey, you guys gotta stay apart, you gotta stay away from each other, we gotta continue to test negative,’” Trout said. “This season (it’s), ‘Hey, the quicker we become a family, the quicker you guys understand there’s guys that are 18 years old, 19-year-olds and guys that are 23-year-olds, you guys gotta become friends and teammates and brothers. And the quicker you do that, the quicker we’re gonna have a chance to win a championship.’

“And so to me, it wasn’t the X’s and O’s. There’s small things you can do X’s and O’s-wise. To me, it was more of the culture side of it, of guys becoming a one and then guys becoming a true team. And like I said, when adversity hits, that’s when you truly get that test as a team.”

Despite losing 10 seniors, the Bobcats do return a lot of their production, including many of their top hitters. Shuffield will remain at shortstop, where he’s held the starting spot since 2019. He’ll be joined in the infield by senior third baseman Justin Thompson, who led them with a .284 batting average. Trout said senior Wesley Faison is looking more like the 2020 version of himself where he hit for a .704 slugging percentage before suffering a down year in 2021. Junior Jose Gonzalez, who had a team-high .756 OPS, can slot in almost anywhere — in 2021, he made starts at first base, left field, right field and designated hitter.

Senior outfielder John Wuthrich, who missed 35 games last season with a hand injury, is back and healthy. He’d hit above .300 in each of the two seasons prior and is hoping to get back to the same level.

“Last year was rough for me, just not getting to be out there with the team and stuff,” Wuthrich said. “It was a real gut check for me, trying to figure out how I’m going to handle it, how I’m going to still help the team while not being able to play. So I mean, I learned a lot about myself, about the team, you know, and I’m just trying to put the team first and matter what my situation is.”

Trout will also need to rely on many upperclassmen moving into bigger roles. Junior Peyton Lewis has been working solely at catcher despite mostly playing in the outfield last year. Senior Cameron Gibbons will take over at second base, replacing three-year starter Jaxon Williams. Senior Isaiah Ortega-Jones and redshirt junior Ben McClain will get more opportunities in the outfield.

The head coach will need the same on the mound, especially with former ace Zach Leigh no longer with the team. Trout plans to make junior right-hander Zeke Wood the new Friday starter and wants to work senior RHP Tristan Stivors into the rotation as well. Junior Cameron Bush and third-year sophomore Tony Robie both have starting experience as well.

To make up for the talent the team was losing, Trout hit the recruiting trail hard, bringing in 15 freshmen and three transfers. The class ranked No. 33 in the nation, No. 4 among schools in the state of Texas and No. 1 in the Sun Belt as rated by Perfect Game USA. Trout expects many of the newcomers — such as Texas Tech transfer pitcher Levi Wells, Iowa Western Community College transfer pitcher Peyton Zaybel and freshmen infielders Ryan Leary and Daylan Pena — to be able to contribute right away.

Texas State begins the 2022 season this weekend with a four-game series against Utah Valley. The teams will play their Opening Day game on Friday at 6 p.m., face off in a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m., then close out the series on Sunday at 12 p.m., all games taking place inside Bobcat Ballpark.

Trout’s looking forward to seeing what the new roster can accomplish.

“It’s been an interesting fall and spring to let those guys gel. But I think that’s why I’m most excited,” Trout said. “Our group has really become a family. I know you hear that a lot but our guys truly have, you know, got together and they’re really close. And so I’m excited to see that hopefully continue throughout the spring.”