Championship Central | Box Score
LAFAYETTE, La. – Top-seeded Texas State completed the title sweep with a 5-2 victory over second-seeded Louisiana 5-2 to capture the 2018 Sun Belt Softball Championship on Saturday afternoon at Alfred and Helen Lamson Park.
"This could not have happened to a better group," Texas State head coach Ricci Woodard said. "I am so proud of this group. It was a long road getting here. I guess you could say that the third time is a charm. The way the upperclassmen have led this team and put us in a position to get where we are today, it is special."
The regular-season champion Bobcats jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning as their first three hitters reached on singles to load the bases. Freshman outfielder Brianna Sannem scored on a fielder’s choice and sophomore Hailey MacKay scored on a throwing error to get things to open the scoring.
Louisiana answered in the bottom of the second on an RBI double by freshman second base Casidy Chaumont that knotted the score at 2-2.
Texas State took the lead again in the fifth when sophomore outfielder Christiana McDowell scampered home from second on a Ragin' Cajun fielding error. McDowell kickstarted the inning with a two-out single.
The big hit of the day came in the sixth off the bat of sophomore catcher Haleigh Davis. On the first pitch, Davis blasted a two-run shot deep over the wall in left field to extend Texas State’s lead to 5-2.
Louisiana could only muster one hit in its final two at-bats with the final out coming on a ground out to senior pitcher Randi Rupp, who was in the circle for her fourth start in as many games.
With the win, the Bobcats won their first Sun Belt tournament title since joining the conference and their fifth conference tournament title in program history. Davis was named the Community Coffee Most Outstanding Player with three hits and three RBI in four games.
Texas State now awaits its NCAA Championship destination and opponent. The 64-team bracket is set to be unveiled Sunday at 9 p.m. (CT) on ESPN2. The 16 NCAA regional sites are scheduled for Friday, May 18 to Sunday, May 20.
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2018 SUN BELT SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
All-Tournament Team
Sandra Mendoza, UTA
Peyton Glover, Troy
Talia Truitt, Troy
Summer Ellyson, Louisiana
Kelli Martinez, Louisiana
Kara Gremillion, Louisiana
Mari Cranek, Texas State
Randi Rupp, Texas State
Bailee Carter, Texas State
Community Coffee Most Outstanding Player
Haleigh Davis, Texas State