BOONE, N.C. — The Sun Belt has been dominated by teams like Coastal Carolina, South Alabama, Troy and Louisiana the past few seasons, but some other teams are starting to make headway in the conference.Texas State (18-10, 6-3) and Appalachian State (11-15, 4-5) faced off in Boone this weekend with both sitting at third place in their respective divisions. Despite their similar standings in the conference, these teams are built very differently. 

The Mountaineers have struggled in recent years, winning fewer than 10 conference games in each of the last three seasons, and with a lack of veteran experience returning this looked to be a rebuilding season. However, the team has embraced its younger core and continues to get better. Third-year head coach Kermit Smith is glad to see his young team’s hard work starting to pay off.

“It’s awesome, it’s what we recruited them for,” Smith said. “It’s nice to see them come out here and perform at a high level on any given day.”

This weekend the starting lineup featured four freshmen, including Luke Drumheller, who batted in the three -holefor the first time this season. Seeing his name in the No. 3 spot was a big boost of confidence for the second baseman. 

“I really appreciate coach Smith’s confidence in me,” Drumheller said. “I was kind of shocked to see the board today. But I felt comfortable, and I’m just happy to be in the lineup honestly.”

Drumheller has been one of the best hitters in the Sun Belt, leading the conference with a .409 batting average along with 27 RBIs and 13 runs. The freshman has registered a hit in 20 of his 23 games played, including a recent five-game multi-hit streak he extended Friday night with his first home run of the season. In his first season, he has shown great bat speed, but also has great vision at the plate and is able to work himself into good counts. Transitioning to the college game can be tough for some players, but Drumheller says he is just taking it one game at a time. 

“The biggest thing for me is slowing the game down and learning to find my pitch at each at-bat, and that’s really brought me success,” he said.

Along with Drumheller, freshmen Phillip Cole and Dalton Williams bat four and five, and have added solid bats to the lineup. Cole stood out in Saturday’s game, going 3-5 with two runs, helping keep the Mountaineers in the game before losing 5-4. Saturday also featured another freshman standout, Tyler Tuthill, on the mound. Tuthill has gone 4-3, 3.63 with 32 strikeouts and 16 walks in 39 ⅔ innings.

While the Mountaineers are surprising teams with their group of freshmen, the Bobcats have leaned on veteran leadership throughout the season. With six upperclassmen in the everyday lineup, the team is one of the most experienced in the conference. 

After losing in the semifinal of last year’s conference tournament, the Bobcats look improved this season. The top of the lineup features four players batting over .300, including juniors Will Hollis (.350/.500/.500) and Jaxon Williams (.314/.422/.426 with 11 RBIs and three home runs). 

The lineup is solid throughout and the Bobcats are ranked among the Sun Belt leaders in average and scoring. The team extended its winning streak to six on Saturday, and has outscored opponents by 24 runs. Williams believes the team’s recent success has been fueled by a change in philosophy.  

“It’s a great feeling. We went through a rut two weeks where we weren’t scoring many runs and we called a team meeting, and said we needed to play for each other more,” Williams said. “Now we have better chemistry and guys in the dugout are showing more energy, and that is helping the hitters at the plate because they know their team is behind them.”

The Bobcats have also received some help from their pitching staff, including Hunter McMahon. After transferring in from Coffeyville Community College, McMahon has been one of the most consistent pitchers on the staff. The junior has a good fastball but also works with a changeup and slider that make batters miss. Working low in the zone, McMahon is able to get players to groundout or pop-up. Despite giving up eight hits on Saturday, he was able to get himself out of jams and only surrendered two runs. The win brings McMahon to 4-2, 2.93 with 33 strikeouts and 17 walks in 43 innings. In his first season with the Bobcats, McMahon credits his team with his early success. 

“I’ve been relying on my defense,” McMahon said. “Before I was a big strikeout guy and I would get myself into pitch count trouble. So the biggest thing is I’ve been going at guys and trusting my defense more. I’ve been working on getting the ball to spots where they can’t get a barrell on it. It may not be the best for my numbers or striking guys out, but it gets me a lot further into games and helps out bullpen.”

Texas State won the first two games of the series, but Appalachian State salvaged Sunday’s series finale with a 3-0 victory. Both teams are sitting in a good spot in their divisions, and look to continue to build on their success halfway through the season. Texas State is now 18-10 overall and 6-3 in conference play, and a 2-1 showing at the Shriners Classic is a big resumé highlight. ASU made some noise last weekend with a series win at Louisiana and is now sitting at 11-15 overall and 4-5 in the SBC. While built differently, these teams each have a chance to knock off the favorites of this division come conference tournament time.