Four Bobcats Garner All-Conference Honors

By, Joshua Flanagan 

SAN MARCOS – Texas State’s Tanner Hill, Cory Geisler, Pasquale Mazzoccoli and Granger Studdard all received All-Conference honors from the Sun Belt Conference Tuesday night. Hill and Geisler made the First Team at first base and utility respectively while Mazzoccoli, a relief pitcher, and Studdard, an outfielder, garnered Second-Team honors.

Hill has always had power in his bat, but this season he has exploded for 14 home runs, 17 doubles, 40 RBIs and 131 total bases. He has been one of the most consistent bats in the lineup for the Bobcats, hitting .317 with a team-high 72 hits this year. The senior from San Marcos finished the season second in the SBC in home runs, third in at bats, tied for third in total bases, tied for fourth in doubles and fifth in slugging percentage and hits. Defensively, he leads the SBC in putouts. This marks the first All-Conference nod of his career. He was selected Preseason All-SBC this year as was Geisler.

Geisler takes the honor as a utility player, throwing 59.1 innings this year while batting .316. He struck nine doubles and a triple with 31 hits and 15 runs, but he made his biggest impact on the mound. He carries a 2.73 ERA into the tournament with four victories so far this season. He has tallied 55 strikeouts in 11 appearances, an average of five strikeouts per appearance, but, with eight starts, it’s an average of 6.9 strikeouts per start. Opponents are hitting just .220 against him. He is top 10 in the SBC in ERA, opposing batting average, and leads the conference in hits allowed, runs allowed and earned runs allowed. This is the second All-Conference honor of his career, earning the nod his sophomore season, Texas State’s first season in the SBC.

Another Bobcat who has done damage on the mound is the conference leader in saves, Mazzoccoli. He has 13 for the season, setting a new school record in saves, and has been deadly on the mound. He is second in the conference in games finished and is tied for sixth in appearances and games in relief. He is tied for ninth in the nation in saves. This is the first All-Conference honor of his career.

Finally, Studdard has been a mainstay for the Bobcats in the outfield his entire career and now he earns his second consecutive All-Conference nod. He has completely flipped his career strikeout-to-walk ratio this season, finishing the rgular season with 37 walks to 25 strikeouts. He is tied for third in the conference in walks. He went on a 19-game hitting streak this season and currently has 60 hits, third on the team. The junior from Buda has knocked in 28 RBIs with a .395 on base percentage and has not committed an error in the outfield this season.

Don’t miss out on this foursome leading the Bobcats into the SBC Championship Tournament this week. The team’s first game is at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

For the entire list of Sun Belt All-Conference selections, look below.

All-Sun Belt Baseball First Team

Gunner Leger (UL Lafayette, Sophomore, SP, Exercise Science)

Kevin Hill (South Alabama, RS-Senior, SP, Interdisciplinary Studies)

Grant Bennett (Troy, Senior, SP, Social Science)

Dylan Moore (UL Lafayette, Sophomore, RP, Political Science-Pre Law)

Brady Cox (UT Arlington, Junior, C, Interdisciplinary Studies)

Tanner Hill (Texas State, Senior, 1B, General Studies)

Darien McLemore (UT Arlington, Senior, 2B, Business Management)

Drew LaBounty (South Alabama, RS-Sophomore, SS, Leisure Studies)

Tanner Ring (Arkansas State, Senior, 3B, Exercise Science)

Ryan Scott (Little Rock, Senior, OF, Management)

Kyle Clement (UL Lafayette, Senior, OF, General Studies)

Cole Billingsley (South Alabama, RS-Junior, OF, Sports Management)

Cory Geisler (Texas State, Senior, UTIL, Applied Arts and Sciences)

Dalton Thomas (Little Rock, Junior, DH, Undecided)

All-Sun Belt Baseball Second Team

Evan Challenger (Georgia Southern, Junior, SP, Sport Management)

Kadon Simmons (UT Arlington, Junior, SP, Business/Information Systems)

Lucas Brown (Troy, Senior, SP, Criminal Justice)

Pasquale Mazzoccoli (Texas State, Senior, RP, Applied Arts and Sciences)

Joey Roach (Georgia State, Senior, C, Actuarial Science)

Ryan Cleveland (Georgia Southern, Junior, 1B, Justice Studies)

Hayden Martin (Little Rock, Senior, 2B, Economics/Finance)

Matt Vernon (Appalachian State, Junior, SS, Communication Studies)

Jarrett Hood (Georgia State, Junior, 3B, Health & Physical Education)

Quintin Rohrbaugh (UT Arlington, Junior, OF, Business Finance)

Granger Studdard (Texas State, Junior, OF, Criminal Justice)

Joey Denison (Troy, Junior, OF, Global Business)

Joe Schrimpf (Arkansas State, Junior, UTIL, Business Administration)

Colton Turner (UT Arlington, Junior, DH, Sports Management)

Sun Belt Baseball Student-Athlete of the Year

Ryan Scott (Little Rock, Senior, OF, Management)

Sun Belt Baseball Pitcher of the Year

Kevin Hill (South Alabama, RS-Senior, SP, Interdisciplinary Studies)

Sun Belt Baseball Freshman of the Year

Nick Lee (UL Lafayette, Freshman, SP, Petroleum Engineering)

Sun Belt Baseball Ron Maestri Coach of the Year

Chris Curry, Little Rock