2016 Softball Media Guide
2016 Softball Composite Schedule
2016 Softball Standings
2016 Softball Stats
Current NCAA RPI Rankings
Sun Belt Conference Weekly News and Notes
NEW ORLEANS – Texas State’s Randi Rupp and Georgia State’s Kensey Caldwell have been named the Community Coffee Pitcher and Student-Athlete of the Week, announced Monday.
Sophomore pitcher Randi Rupp has been named Pitcher of the Week for the second week in a row. This is her third weekly honor this year.
She played a crucial part in Texas State’s Sun Belt Conference sweep over South Alabama this past weekend. In 24.2 innings pitched, including all 14 innings in Saturday’s doubleheader, Rupp struck out 29 batters while allowing just one earned run. She earned all three wins against South Alabama. In game one on Saturday, Rupp went head-to-head with the then-conference leader in strikeouts and won the battle 12 to 10. Against the second-ranked hitting team in the Sun Belt Conference, Rupp held South Alabama to just a .113 batting average with only seven hits allowed in 20.0 innings pitched.
After pitching the complete game in game one, Rupp started game two on Saturday and had a no-hitter going through the first six and a third. She allowed just one hit the entire game with eight strikeouts. On Sunday against the Jaguars, Rupp came in relief in the second inning with the bases loaded and no outs. She struck out the next three batters, allowing no runs to score. She finished the game with six innings pitched, seven strikeouts and just one hit allowed. Also in game one of the series against the Jaguars, Rupp had a Jaguar runner on third base twice with two outs and got out of each inning with a strikeout. With 12 strikeouts in game one, Rupp now has nine double-digit strikeout games this season. For the week, Rupp finished with a 0.28 ERA with the only earned run coming in game one against South Alabama. The earned run on Saturday was the first earned run given up by Rupp since Houston Baptist on April 6 (one earned run in eight games).
Rupp finished the week with a 3-1 overall record and improved her season record to 22-9. She lowered her ERA to a Sun Belt Conference-low 1.59. She now leads the conference in strikeouts with 263.
Texas State is now tied with Troy and Georgia State for fourth place in conference standings with a 9-9 record. The Bobcats will travel to Boone, North Carolina to take on App State in a weekend conference series.
Junior Kensey Caldwell has been named Community Coffee Student-Athlete of the Week. She is the second Panther in a row to receive the weekly nod.
Caldwell paved the way for GSU to take a weekend series from UT Arlington. Caldwell had an RBI and run scored in all three games, including a home run in Sunday finale. Caldwell began the week by breaking up a UGA no-hitter with a single. She then hit doubles in both games of Saturday’s doubleheader against UTA. She finished the week hitting .615 (8-for-13) with six RBI, two doubles and a home run.
Georgia State enters a crucial conference series this weekend as they take on the Warhawks of UL Monroe.
Recent Results
April 19
GS at SC - GS, 6-4
April 20
App State at Charlotte - Charlotte, 8-0
Troy at Georgia Tech - GT, 2-1
GSU at Georgia - Georgia, 8-0
UL-L at McNeese – Postponed
USA at Alabama - Alabama, 4-2
Texas State at Baylor - Baylor, 3-0
April 21
ULM at La Tech - La Tech, 4-2
April 23
UTA at GSU* - UTA, 8-6
USA at Texas State* - TXST, 3-1
GS at Troy* - GS, 8-1
UTA at Georgia State* - GSU, 7-2
App State at UL-L* - ULL, 13-4
USA at Texas State* - TXST, 3-0
GS at Troy* - Troy, 13-5
App State at UL-L* - ULL, 14-2
April 24
UTA at Georgia State - GSU, 4-2
USA at Texas State* - TXST, 1-0
App State at UL-L* - ULL, 14-0
GS at Troy* - Troy, 4-1
Community Coffee Pitcher of the Week
Randi Rupp, Texas State, Sophomore
Sophomore pitcher Randi Rupp played a crucial part in Texas State’s Sun Belt Conference sweep over South Alabama this past weekend. In 24.2 innings pitched, including all 14 innings in Saturday’s doubleheader, Rupp struck out 29 batters while allowing just one earned run. She earned all three wins against South Alabama. In game one on Saturday, Rupp went head-to-head with the then-conference leader in strikeouts and won the battle 12 to 10. Against the second-ranked hitting team in the Sun Belt Conference, Rupp held South Alabama to just a .113 batting average with only seven hits allowed in 20.0 innings pitched. After pitching the complete game in game one, Rupp started game two on Saturday and had a no-hitter going through the first six and a third. She allowed just one hit the entire game with eight strikeouts. On Sunday against the Jaguars, Rupp came in relief in the second inning with the bases loaded and no outs. She struck out the next three batters, allowing no runs to score. She finished the game with six innings pitched, seven strikeouts and just one hit allowed. Also in game one of the series against the Jaguars, Rupp had a Jaguar runner on third base twice with two outs and got out of each inning with a strikeout. With 12 strikeouts in game one, Rupp now has nine double-digit strikeout games this season. For the week, Rupp finished with a 0.28 ERA with the only earned run coming in game one against South Alabama. The earned run on Saturday was the first earned run given up by Rupp since Houston Baptist on April 6 (one earned run in eight games). Rupp finished the week with a 3-1 overall record and improved her season record to 22-9. She lowered her ERA to a Sun Belt Conference-low 1.59. She now leads the conference in strikeouts with 263.
Community Coffee Student-Athlete of the Week
Kensey Caldwell, Georgia State, Junior, Infielder
Junior Kensey Caldwell has been named Community Coffee Student-Athlete of the Week. She is the second Panther in a row to receive the weekly nod. Caldwell paved the way for GSU to take a weekend series from UT Arlington. Caldwell had an RBI and run scored in all three games, including a home run in Sunday finale. Caldwell began the week by breaking up a UGA no-hitter with a single. She then hit doubles in both games of Saturday’s doubleheader against UTA. She finished the week hitting .615 (8-for-13) with six RBI, two doubles and a home run.
Previous Pitchers of the Week
Feb. 16 - Devin Brown, South Alabama
Feb. 23 - Katie Worley, Georgia State
Mar. 1 - Kylee Jo Trahan, UL Lafayette
Mar. 8 - Randi Rupp, Texas State
Mar. 15 - Ashley Rainey, Troy
Mar. 21 - Devin Brown, South Alabama
Mar. 28 - Devin Brown, South Alabama
Apr. 4 - Alex Stewart, UL Lafayette
Apr. 11 Devin Brown, South Alabama
Apr. 18 Randi Rupp, Texas State
Previous Student-Athletes of the Week
Feb. 16 - Lexie Elkins, UL Lafayette
Feb. 23 - Rochelle Roberts, UL Monroe
Mar. 1 - Ivie Drake, Georgia State
Mar. 8 - DJ Sanders, UL Lafayette
Mar. 15 - Lydia Witkowski, Georgia Southern
Mar. 21 - Hannah Day, Troy
Mar. 28 - Shellie Landry, UL Lafayette
Apr. 4 - Britnea Barilli, UT Arlington
Apr. 11 - Aleah Craighton, UL Lafayette
Apr. 18 - Ivie Drake, Georgia State
Around the #FunBelt
Cajuns Keep On
The Ragin’ Cajuns improved to 5-0 all-time vs. App State…The weekend series marked the Mountaineers first visit to Lamson Park…Shellie Landry’s four RBI tied her season high (2/12 vs. UAB) and vaulted her into the team lead with 46…Landry is now hitting .457 (16-for-35) with nine home runs and 25 RBI over the last four Sun Belt Conference series (TROY, TXST, GSU, APP)…Kelsey Vincent became the fifth Cajun to reach double digits in home runs, picking up her 10th of the season in the fourth inning...Vincent reached double figures in home runs for the second straight season and picked up the 39th home run of her career leaving her one shy of 40… Haley Hayden has now posted a hit in 32 out of 41 games this season…Hayden’s current five-game hitting streak is her ninth different hit streak of the season…DJ Sanders (44), Aleah Craighton (42) and Shellie Landry (46) all joined Lexie Elkins (41) in the 40-RBI club following the weekend’s performance…Alex Stewart’s victory secured the first 20-win season of her collegiate career…The Cajuns added five more base hits with runners in scoring position on Sunday, increasing the App State series total to 15 which is a season-high for a weekend series (previous high was 14 w/RISP at UT Arlington)…The Cajuns hit .429 (15-for-35) with runners in scoring position against App State…Kara Gremillion continued to shine at third base, fielding all 15 chances in the App State series without an error…For the season, Gremillion has committed only three errors over 112 chances (47 PO, 62 A, 3 E, .973 FLD%)…The Cajuns pitching staff held an opponent to two runs or fewer for the 28th time in 41 games (27-1 record)…Alex Stewart and Kylee Jo Trahan combined for the team’s 16th shutout of the season…Stewart has tossed five complete game shutouts and now combined for four other shutouts this season…Sara Corbello continues to strengthen the bottom half of the lineup, having posted at least one hit in 12 of the last 17 games…Since the Troy series (March 25-26), Corbello (now hitting No. 6 in the lineup) is batting a team-best .378 (17-for-45) with seven home runs and 14 RBI…Attendance was 1,463 giving the Ragin’ Cajuns a crowd of 1,300-plus for the 13th time in as many playing dates at Lamson Park in 2016.
Bobcat Border
The Texas State defense finished Sunday with two double plays and it finished the weekend with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. The first double play of the game was with one out in the top of the fifth. A fly ball to Naivar was caught and on the pitch, the runner from first was going. After the catch, Naivar threw a bullet to Wiley at first to get the runner who failed to tag. The second double play of the game was in the top of the sixth inning after a strikeout. Sara Rupp rocketed a ball down to Wiley at first to get the lead runner who had distanced herself too much from first base. The Bobcats have improved their defensive percentage to .974.
Troy Wins on Senior Day
The Troy softball team captured a 4-1 victory Sunday in the Sun Belt Conference series finale against Georgia Southern at the Troy Softball Complex on Senior Day. Senior Day was full of excitement as all seven seniors started and contributed to get the win. Kate Benton picked up her 38th stolen base of the season to break Tara Michel’s single-season Troy record. Additionally, Leah Brundidge earned her first career start and picked up her first career hit in the game The Trojans (28-19, 9-9 Sun Belt) came out of the gate swinging and plated three runs in the first inning. Georgia Southern starting pitcher Dixie Raley walked home Troy’s first two runs as she issued free passes to Khadija Neely and Ashley Rainey with the bases loaded. Brundidge stepped to the plate next and blistered a ball through the left side to score Meg Willis and make the score 3-0. Troy’s final run of the game came in the fifth inning when Amanda Winters hit a solo shot to right center to extend the Trojans’ lead out to 4-1. Despite having seven hits on the day, Georgia Southern (27-21, 11-7 Sun Belt) could only push one run across the plate. The Eagles’ lone run came in the fourth inning when Morgan Robinson singled to right field and brought Emily Snider around for the score. Ashley Rainey (15-13) picked up the win in the circle in her last game at the Troy Softball Complex. She pitched a complete game and gave up only one run. Raley (20-10) suffered the loss for the Eagles as she allowed four runs on five hits and recorded five strikeouts in six inning of work. The Trojans are back in action next weekend as they travel to Arlington, Texas to take on UT Arlington in a three-game Sun Belt series. A doubleheader is slated for Saturday and set to begin at 1 p.m. and the series finale is scheduled for 12 p.m. on Sunday.
Worley Wins Again
Senior pitcher Katie Worley threw a complete-game Sunday and held UT Arlington to two runs on four hits while junior Kensey Caldwell hit her eighth home run of the year to lead Georgia State to a 4-2 win. Worley improves to 12-8 on the year after throwing her 24th career complete game and second in as many days. The senior struck out four and allowed only four hits. UT Arlington capitalized with a double in the second inning to take a 2-1 lead, but Worley settled in and finished strong. Caldwell homered in the first inning to start the scoring. Over the three-game series, Caldwell went 7-for-11 and scored three runs while driving in six. She hit two doubles and a homer, leading the Panthers to a series win over the Mavericks. After falling behind 2-1, the GSU offense rallied in the bottom of the third and brought home three runs on two hits and two walks. Arden Jobe evened the score, drawing a bases-loaded walk. Morgan Brown gave GSU the lead with an RBI-single into center field and Remington Hasty added some insurance on an RBI-single to put the Panthers up 4-2. The win moves Georgia State to 26-24 (9-9 SBC) on the year while UT Arlington falls to 28-14 (7-11 SBC). The Panthers are currently in a three-way tie for fourth in the conference standings. Next up for GSU is a road series at UL Monroe this weekend.