April 1, 2015
Texas State Softball's Randi Rupp Strikes Out 14 En Route To Eighth Shutout
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Fourteen strikeouts by freshman pitcher Randi Rupp led the Texas State softball team to a 1-0 shutout over Southland Conference foe Incarnate Word Wednesday evening. Texas State improves to 22-15 on the year and Rupp threw her 21st complete game and eighth shutout of the season. Her eight shutouts now leads the nation in that category.
Rupp matched her career-high in strikeouts and it marked the fifth game this season that she has struck out double-digit batters.
The Bobcats spread out eight hits over the course of the evening, led by senior Kortney Koroll with three of them. Koroll’s last hit of the evening was a line drive out to left center field that she extended into a double. Kelli Baker, Ariel Ortiz, Courtney Harris, Katie Doerre, and Sara Rupp all collected a hit for Texas State.
Ortiz’s hit extended her hitting streak to a career-high eight games and her on base streak to a career-high 11 contests.
Harris scored the lone run for the Bobcats on a solo shot to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning. Harris has now hit six home runs this season and has put Texas State just seven home runs away from matching the all-time program high of 53 in a single season.
Texas State will remain at home this Friday evening at 6 p.m. against Texas. The Bobcats will then return the favor Saturday afternoon for a 1 p.m. start against the Longhorns in Austin, Texas. Live stats, live video, and live audio will be available at www.txstatebobcats.com. Fans can purchase tickets for Friday’s game against the Longhorns at www.txstatebobcats.com/tickets or by calling the Ticket Office at 512-245-2272.
----
UTA Defeats UNT for Fifth Straight Win
ARLINGTON, Texas – UT Arlington stretched its winning streak to five games after defeating North Texas 5-1 in nonconference action at Allan Saxe Field on Wednesday night.
The Mavericks (22-15) used 10 hits to win their eighth in the last nine games. Sophomore Mallory Foster, coming off a week in which she earned the Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week award, finished with a game-high three RBI and a home run. Foster was 2-for-3 at the plate and scored a run.
"I was just trying to keep doing what I was doing," Foster said. "It was hard to stay humble after that but also recognize I got something like that. I just tried to stay humble and relaxed at the plate."
Foster's two-run home run in the fourth was her fourth in the last three games. The sophomore continued to be a threat as she knocked in another run in the fifth on a bases-loaded single to center that gave the Mavs a 5-1 lead.
Sophomore pitcher Sam Montes won her fourth consecutive start to improve to 11-8. Montes struck out a season-high six and didn’t allow a hit until the fourth when North Texas took advantage of a two-out error to extend the inning. The right-hander gave up one unearned run, five hits and walked two.
Freshman Sandra Mendoza continued to be hot from the leadoff position. Mendoza had two hits while leading off, including a single to open the bottom half of the first that produced UTA's first run. Britnea Barilli's double to left scored Mendoza after the freshman stole second on the prior pitch.
The Mavericks hope to continue their streak against one the Sun Belt's best when No. 24 South Alabama comes to Allan Saxe Field for a three-game series that opens Friday. UTA coach Kristie Fox said that there were similarities between UNT's starter and those the team will face against the Jaguars.
"Their pitcher did a good job and threw similar stuff to the types of pitchers that we will see this weekend," Fox said. "We had some opportunities to put the game away and we didn't come up big with the two-out RBI, so that is something that we need to work on the next couple of days."
UTA left eight on base in the game.
NOTES: UTA leads the overall series with North Texas 27-15. … UTA and South Alabama open the series with a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 4 p.m. The matchup concludes on Saturday at 1 p.m. … UTA's five-game winning streak is the longest active in the Sun Belt.
----
Georgia State Softball Falls to Furman in Doubleheader? Wednesday
ATLANTA – Georgia State dropped both games of doubleheader against Furman at the Robert E. Heck Softball Complex Wednesday afternoon. GSU falls to 23-12 overall this season and now hits the road for a three-game conference series at No. 10 UL Lafayette.
Georgia State outhit Furman in both games but could only manage one extra base hit, a triple by Morgan Brown in the bottom of seventh in Game 2. Overall, the Panthers finished with 15 hits but they also stranded 17 runners.
Game 1 was a pitcher’s duel as both starters threw complete games. Katie Worley went the distance for Georgia State, but the Panthers’ offense could not provide the run support as Furman starter Lindsey Bret allowed one run in the Paladins’ 3-1 win.
Game 2 was much of the same as Furman starter Alex Sappington allowed just two runs en route to the 6-2 complete-game victory. Brown and Christy drove in runs for Georgia State put three home runs by the Paladins was the difference.
GSU returns to the field on Friday, April 3 at 6 p.m. for the first game of three against No. 10 UL Lafayette at Lamson Park in Lafayette, La.
Follow along with Georgia State on Twitter (@GSU_Softball) and Facebook for the latest news. For softball season tickets call 404-403-4020 or click here.