Top 10 Texas State Athletic Moments of 2014

By Warren Schorr
Sports Director

Lets go down memory lane and take a look back at the top 10 moments athletic moments of 2014. These will range from accomplishments to games that took place in the year 2014.

10: Texas State Track and Field team sending two student-athletes to the NCAA National Championship Meet. Darian Brown finished 20th in discus and Allie Saunders finished 21st in triple jump. Both Saunders and Brown will be back for their senior seasons in 2015.

9. Softball series win over South Alabama: The Bobcats took 2 out of 3 from the then ranked No.11 Jaguars and winning games 2 and 3 of the series. After losing game 1 8-0, they rallied to win next two games 4-1, and 4-3. Going into the series, South Alabama’s pitching staff had fourth best ERA in the country at .860. The Bobcats mustered up 8 runs in the 3 game series and hit two home runs when USA only allowed 3 coming into the series.

8. Volleyball home opener vs Baylor: Even though the Bobcats lost in 4 sets (18-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-23), they played in front of a record crowd of 3,591 at Strahan Coliseum. Strahan was rocking all night especially after the first set win. It was great to see such great fan support after Head Coach Karen Chisem called for a “White Out” and the fans didn’t let her down. That is the loudest I have ever heard Strahan and anyone who was in attendance will say this was one of the more memorable games of the year.

7. Soccer’s Overtime Homecoming win:  In the 92nd minute Sr Jourdan Brown found a rebound shot fall right to her feet and she drilled it right in the back of the net for the 2-1 win over Appalachian State.  That was Brown’s first and only goal on the season and it helped propel the Bobcats to an 8-3-1 record overall and 3-0-0 in conference play. Sr Tori Hale got the Bobcats on the board with an 18th minute goal and the Mountaineers tied it up in the 53rd minute. Brown said “It was great to score the goal because I doesn’t get many chances to score.”

6. Stuart Smallwood winning Sun Belt Conference Individual Golf Championship: Behind rounds of 68-68-72 and a 54-hole score of 208 Stuart Smallwood won medalist honors at the SBC Conference Tournament. Smallwood won by 3 shots and led wire-to-wire. Smallwood’s 8-under par tied a Texas State 54-hole school record. The win earned Smallwood a birth in the NCAA Regionals in the San Antonio Region where he placed 52nd and shot 73-75-77.

5. Women’s Basketball plays in the postseason: After a semi-final appearance in the SBC tournament and a 12-6 conference record the Bobcats were invited to play in the Women’s Basketball Invitational. The Bobcats played Stephen F. Austin and lost 59-51. After a non-confernce record of 4-10, it didn’t look like the Bobcats were going to sniff postseason play but they rallied in conference play with a 12-6 record and earned a berth, That was a nice stepping stone and momentum builder for the 2014-2015 season.

4. Baseball’s Walk-off win over UTSA: Heading into the ninth inning the Bobcats trailed the Roadrunners 6-3 and it looked bleak after UTSA scored four in the top of the 8th. Freshman sensation Granger Studdard did what he did all year and delivered in the clutch. #GrangerDanger launched one in the gap and Garret Mattlage who hit a game-tying, bases clearing double the batter before to tie it up scored the winning run from second. The Bobcat benched then mobbed Studdard between first and second base, while the Roadrunners were left shocked on the top step of the visitor dugout at Bobcat Stadium. Anytime there is a walk-off win against the arch rival, its going to be a great moment of the year.

3. Football delivers a primetime blowout: With their bowl chances on life-support and on national TV against the 3-time conference champions Arkansas State, Texas State Football final found their signature Division I win. Recently, in big games the football team hasn’t found a way to win so it was nice to see them come out and dominate a Sun Belt Conference staple such as Arkansas State 45-27. It shows that they can play with the best in the league and should give confidence for next year.

2. Harrington wins 500: In beautiful Bobcat Ballpark, in front of the home faithful Head Coach Ty Harrington won his 500th game with a 2-0 win against Big 12 foe Baylor. It’s a testament to the consistency of the program and Harrington to reach such a milestone of 500 wins in 15 seasons at the helm. Harrington is the schools winning baseball coach in overall and conference record.

1. Chisem wins 800: In front of the home crowd on senior night Head Coach Karen Chisum notched her 800th career win in a sweep (25-17, 25-17, 25-19) against Troy. Chisem has coached Texas State’s volleyball team for 36 years. She is the 22nd coach overall to reach this achievement and the 13th Division I coach to reach 800 wins. The longevity and success that Coach Chisum has had over the years at Texas State is why this milestone of 800 wins is so incredible and why it is the number 1 moment of the year for Texas State athletics in 2014.