Texas State Updates: Bobcats in Baseball

Two former Bobcats make
pro baseball debuts

Kubitza

Third baseman Kyle Kubitza and pitcher Joe Dvorsky, both selected in the Major League Baseball draft earlier this month, have launched their pro careers in different corners of the country.

Kubitza joined the Danville (Ga.) Braves in the Rookie-level Appalachian League on June 21, and he has appeared in seven games for the Atlanta Braves’ affiliate. He was the organization’s third-round draft selection.

Dvorsky

Dvorsky made his debut a day later, pitching an inning for the Great Falls (Mont.) Voyagers in the Rookie-level Pioneer League. He was the 35th-round pick of the Chicago White Sox.

Rising Stars: Michael Collins

Texas State archaeology professor
brings ancient culture to life

Michael Collins came of age during a period Texas author Elmer Kelton referred to as “the time it never rained.”

One of the worst droughts on record gripped much of the United States, including Collins’ hometown of Midland, in the 1950s. Lakes dried up. Unceasing heat desiccated the soil. Agricultural activity slowed to a crawl.

The West Texas winds did not slow down. They stole the dirt, carrying it by the ton for hundreds of miles in swirling, choking clouds. Collins remembers a horseman riding under a barbed-wire fence — and not being able to touch the bottom strand.

But while the drought and the winds were stealing topsoil from West Texas, they were giving Mike Collins a gift: archaeology.

Texas State Updates: Bobcats in Baseball

Goldschmidt to compete tonight
in Southern League homer derby

Goldschmidt

Former Texas State first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who leads all Double-A players in home runs this season with 22, will take part in the Southern League Home Run Derby tonight in Jackson, Tenn.

The competition is part of the league’s all-star celebration. The all-star game, in which Goldschmidt is a starter for the Southern Division, is Tuesday.

Pitcher Mike Hart continued his hot streak last week. Hart, a reliever for Class A Burlington, has given up just two hits and no runs in June.

Here’s the weekly update of former Bobcats playing pro baseball:

Happenings: Hear Coach Fran

Franchione to speak
at Bobcat Club luncheon

Dennis Franchione

Texas State coach Dennis Franchione will discuss the future of Bobcats football at a luncheon in Austin next month.

Sponsored by the Bobcat Club, the event will be July 13 at noon at the Austin Club, 110 E. 9th St. Tickets are $25, with tables for 10 available for $250.

He will talk about Texas State’s transition to the Western Athletic Conference, the university’s growth and the upgrades being made to the athletic facilities, including the $32 million addition to Bobcat Stadium.

Texas State Updates: Golf

Bobcats’ Alastair Jones
advances at British Amateur

Alastair Jones

Texas State golfer Alastair Jones has advanced to the match play portion of the British Amateur Championship after finishing second in the stroke play part of the tournament in Merseyside, England.

Jones, who is from Cardiff, Wales, shot a 3-under-par 68 in the second round. He finished the two rounds at 140, just behind Greg Eason of the University of Central Florida.

Sixty-four golfers advanced to the match play part of the 116-year-old event. Competition continues through Saturday.

Alumni: Distinguished Alumni 2011

Texas State Alumni Association
selects honorees for 2011

The Texas State Alumni Association has announced five recipients of the 2011 Distinguished Alumni Award, ranging from the university’s longest-tenured coach to an advocate for the state’s growing research industry.

The 2011 awards will be presented Oct. 28 at the Distinguished Alumni Awards Gala during Homecoming Weekend. This year’s honorees are:

Connie “C.R.” Arnold (BS, Biology, ’62, MA, Biology, ’63): He is the former director and now Perry R. Bass Chair Emeritus in Fisheries and Mariculture at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute, which is in Port Aransas. He joined the institute in 1977.

Karen Chisum

Michael Bowman (BAAS, Occupational Education, ’78): He is president of Hunt and Hunt, a Houston-based company that does precision machine work.

Karen Chisum (BS, Physical Education, ’72, MEd, Physical Education, ’78): She is the volleyball coach at Texas State. She has 716 career victories and is the longest-tenured head coach at the university.

Jeff Foster

Jeff Foster (BAAS, Technology, ’09): Foster is a 12-year veteran of the National Basketball Association, all with the Indiana Pacers. He returned to Texas State to finish his degree mid-career.

Tom Kowalski (BA, Political Science, ’78): He is president and CEO of Texas Healthcare and Bioscience Institute, which is a statewide public policy research organization that promotes medical research, development and manufacturing in Texas.

The Distinguished Alumni Award dates to 1959, when it was presented to then-U.S. Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson. The award acknowledges outstanding accomplishments and leadership in the individual’s chosen business, profession or life work, on a national or international level.

Texas State Updates: Tony Award Winner

Former Texas State student
Hickey earns Tony Award

John Benjamin Hickey, with his Tony Award, from Broadway.com.

One of the big winners at the American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards on Sunday was former Texas State student John Benjamin Hickey.

The native of Plano won in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play category for his performance as Felix Turner in The Normal Heart, a revival described as “outrageous, unflinching, and totally unforgettable look at the sexual politics of New York during the AIDS crisis.” It was his first Tony Award.

“Being a member of the ensemble of The Normal Heart has been the greatest privilege (and) the proudest moment of my career,” Harris said in his acceptance speech, which can be seen online. “We love this play and we loved doing this play.”

Texas State Updates: Bobcats in Baseball

Linebrink earns rare save;
Hart stays dominant in Midwest

Here is the weekly update of former Texas State student-athletes playing professional baseball from Massachusetts to California and points in between.

Atlanta Braves pitcher Scott Linebrink earned the eighth save of his 571-game big-league career last week, striking out the Marlins’ Gaby Sanchez in the bottom of the 10th inning Wednesday night. MLB.com has video of the strikeout on Linebink’s player page; click on “Linebrink fans Gaby” to see it.

Mike Hart

Pitcher Mike Hart has lowered his earned-run average to 1.80, allowing just two earned runs in his last 10 relief appearances for the Burlington Bees in the Class A Midwest League. Opponents were hitting just .089 against him in those games.

Former Bobcats first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was chosen for the Southern League All-Star Game last week as well.

Texas State Updates: Jessica Salazar

Texas State student claims
prize in national competition

Jessica Salazar

Jessica Salazar, a spring graduate from the Texas State fashion merchandising program, finished second in a contest sponsored by the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists for student poster presentations.

Her entry, “Zar Golf … When Technology Meets Fashion,” detailed  embedding a system of sensors in golf clothes. Feedback from the sensors would be analyzed by a software app for a mobile device, allowing for instant feedback from a coach on a golfer’s swing.

Salazar, a native of Edinburg, played on the golf team and designed a line of women’s golf clothes while at Texas State.

Click here to see her presentation.

Texas State Updates: Bobcats in Baseball

MLB draft likely to include
Bobcats’ Carson Smith

Carson Smith

The Major League Baseball amateur draft starts today with a prime-time special on MLB.com.

The first round begins at 6 p.m., with rounds 2-30 scheduled to start at 11 a.m. Tuesday and rounds 31-50 beginning at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

Texas State’s Carson Smith, Texas State’s third All-American and the two-time Southland Conference pitcher of the year, has been mentioned as a potential high-round selection. Smith, who transferred to Texas State from Grayson County College and today is the school’s all-time strikeout leader, was profiled in his hometown paper on Sunday.