Baseball

ESPNU Game & Clashes of Postseason Contenders Headline Sun Belt Baseball Weekend Schedule

WEEK 6 CONFERENCE NOTES

NEW ORLEANS – Reigning national runner-up and No. 7-ranked Coastal Carolina will make the second of three scheduled national television appearances at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT on Saturday, April 18, on ESPNU, when it plays host to Georgia State. 
 
Elsewhere, four of the Sun Belt’s top postseason contenders will meet in Top 75 RPI clashes as No. 17 Southern Miss hosts Texas State and Troy hosts Louisiana for three-game weekend series. 
 
All 21 Sun Belt games this weekend will be broadcast nationwide, with one on ESPNU and 20 on ESPN+. 
 
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
  • POSTSEASON PICTURE – Midway through the Sun Belt Conference season, teams No. 3-10 in the conference standings are separated by just one game at either 8-7 or 7-8 in league play. That grouping also sits just a game behind second-place Texas State, which hits the road against a pair of nationally-ranked teams in No. 17 Southern Miss and No. 7 Coastal Carolina over the next two weekends. The Sun Belt is 1-of-6 conferences projected to send three-or-more teams to NCAA Baseball Regionals in the latest Field of 64 Projections by Baseball America and D1Baseball. Baseball America included Coastal Carolina, Southern Miss, Texas State and Louisiana in its latest field, with Louisiana among its last four in and Troy among its next four out. D1Baseball featured Coastal Carolina, Southern Miss and Texas State in its latest projection, with Louisiana and Troy among its four to watch. Both publications projected the reigning national runner-up Chanticleers as a regional host. The Sun Belt has sent 14 teams to NCAA Baseball Regionals over the past four seasons and has seven teams currently listed among the Top 76 in the RPI. 
  • CATCH US ON TV – No. 7 Coastal Carolina welcomes Georgia State to Springs Brooks Stadium for a three-game conference series this weekend, headlined by a nationally-televised matchup at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT on Saturday, April 18, on ESPNU. The Sun Belt is 1-of-12 conferences to be featured on ESPN’s linear networks during the 2026 baseball season. The reigning Sun Belt champion and national runner-up Chanticleers have won 13-straight conference series dating back to March 2025. Coastal Carolina has won 7-of-8 series against the Panthers as Sun Belt Conference foes, with the lone exception being a Georgia State sweep in Conway, S.C., in 2022. 
  • FROM THE LEFT SIDE – Three Sun Belt left-handed pitchers who will take the ball this weekend are tied for 13th in the country with six wins on the year—Marshall senior lefty Bryce Blevins, Southern Miss sophomore lefty Grayden Harris and Texas State redshirt junior lefty Jesus Tovar. Blevins and Harris also rank among the Top 5 in the Sun Belt with 1.57 and 1.80 walks allowed per nine innings; 57 and 60 strikeouts; and 5.18 and 6.00 strikeout to walk ratios, respectively, on the season.
  • BOUNCE BACK – No. 17 Southern Miss, which has not lost a Sun Belt series at Pete Taylor Park since joining the conference ahead of the 2023 season, will put that streak on the line when it hosts second-place Texas State for a Top 40 RPI three-game weekend set. The Golden Eagles will look to snap a three-game losing streak after dropping a road series to Louisiana last weekend and falling to in-state foe No. 22 Ole Miss in mid-week action. The Bobcats will also attempt to rebound from a home series loss to Troy a week ago. After dropping the first-ever Sun Belt series to Texas State in 2023, Southern Miss has rattled off back-to-back series wins over the Bobcats.  
  • RESUME BUILDER – Two teams on the cusp of the NCAA tournament field will look to add to their postseason resumes in a Top 75 RPI clash in Troy, as the Trojans play host to Louisiana for a three-game conference series this weekend. The Trojans are coming off back-to-back series victories over fellow postseason contenders Arkansas State and Texas State. The Ragin’ Cajuns will attempt to follow up a key conference series win over No. 17 Southern Miss last weekend. Troy has won 9 of the last 12 head-to-head matchups with Louisiana, earning series victories in each of the past four seasons. 
 
SUN BELT BASEBALL SERIES – WEEK 6
 
 Series  Friday  Saturday  Sunday 
 Georgia State at No. 7 Coastal Carolina  5:00 p.m.  6:00 p.m.  12:00 p.m.
 App State at James Madison  5:00 p.m.  3:00 p.m.  12:00 p.m.
 Arkansas State at ULM  6:00 p.m.  6:00 p.m.  1:00 p.m.
 Georgia Southern at Old Dominion  5:00 p.m.  2:00 p.m.  12:00 p.m.
 Marshall at South Alabama  6:30 p.m.  2:00 p.m.  12:00 p.m.
 Texas State at No. 17 Southern Miss  6:00 p.m.  3:00 p.m.  12:00 p.m.
 Louisiana at Troy   6:00 p.m.  3:33 p.m.  1:00 p.m.
 
All Times CT