Bobcats Finish Friday With Doubleheader Split Against UL Monroe
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State softball team split Saturday afternoon with the UL Monroe Warhawks. Texas State earned an extra innings victory in game one by a score of 3-2 before dropping game two by a 3-2 margin. The Bobcats move to 22-11 on the year and 3-5 in Sun Belt Conference play.
Game One
Through four innings of play, Rupp struck out nine Warhawk batters. The two teams were scoreless until the bottom of the fourth when the Bobcat offense came alive to register the first run of the day.
Sara Rupp, with two outs, hit a double to deep left field to be the first Bobcat base runner in scoring position since the bottom of the first inning. An RBI single up the middle by Bianca Prado gave Texas State a 1-0 lead over the visiting Warhawks.
UL Monroe took over the lead in the top of the sixth inning with a two-run shot to left center.
In the bottom of the seventh trailing 2-1, Texas State took advantage of a defensive miscue by ULM. With two outs, Kelli Baker reached on a fielding error by the second baseman. Back-to-back drawn walks by Kimberlin Naivar and Ariel Ortiz loaded the bases for Corrina Liscano. Liscano, who was down 1-2 in the count, got pegged to bring in the tying run.
The Bobcats continued to rally in the bottom of the eighth inning with a lead-off single by Taylor Webb. Webb advanced to second on a throwing error by the left fielder to move into scoring position for Texas State.
A sacrifice bunt by Rupp moved the pinch runner, Kayleigh Norte, to third with just one out. A walk drawn by Prado put runners on the corners for Alex Cruz who brought in Norte from third on a fielding error by the shortstop to end the contest and give Texas State its third conference victory of the season.
Charleston earned her second victory of the season after putting in two-thirds of an innings worth of work for Texas State. Rupp finished the game with 7.1 innings of work with 12 strikeouts and just one walk. Baker, Naivar, Webb, Rupp, and Prado all recorded hits for Texas State and Liscano got hit by two pitches in game one.
The Warhawk defense was charged with five errors in the game.
Game Two
Two home runs combined for three Warhawk runs in game two to lift ULM to the doubleheader split. The Warhawks put one run on the board in the top of the third inning with a solo home run off of Charleston.
The Bobcats registered their first hit of the ball game with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning by Prado. Prado advanced to second base on a pass ball, but a strikeout ended the inning.
ULM added two more in the sixth to take a 3-0 lead over Texas State.
A one out double to left by Naivar in the bottom of the sixth inning set the Bobcats up with a runner in scoring position. With two outs, Liscano got hit for the third time Friday to set up runners at first and second for Webb. A single to left field by Webb scored Naivar to cut into the Warhawk lead.
A lead-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning by Jaelyn Young cut the Warhawk lead to just one, 3-2. Three straight outs, however, all to the left fielder ended the Bobcats chances of another late inning comeback.
Young's home run in the seventh inning was her first home run as a Texas State Bobcat.
Naivar, Webb, and Prado were the three Bobcats who earned a hit in both games Friday afternoon. Charleston was handed the loss in game two and she falls to 2-4 overall.
Up Next
Texas State and ULM will take to the field for the series finale tomorrow afternoon. First pitch at the Bobcat Softball Stadium is slated for 1 p.m.
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Homers, Strong Pitching Highlight Day-One Split for Softball at Texas State
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The ULM softball team split two tight games by the score of 3-2 Friday against Texas State inside Bobcat Softball Complex.
Texas State 3, ULM 2 (8 innings)
The first scoring opportunity came for the Warhawks in the top of the fourth after freshman Sydney McKay dropped a two-out infield single and advanced to second on a throwing error by Texas State pitcher Randi Rupp. Senior Amye Barre followed up with a 10-pitch walk before freshman Rachel Tadlock popped out to short to end the inning.
The Bobcats (22-10, 3-4 SBC) took advantage of a Sara Rupp two-out double in the bottom of the fourth as Bianca Prado plated Rupp on a single up the middle which gave Texas State a 1-0 advantage.
ULM (15-15, 2-5 SBC) broke through in the top of the sixth after junior Rochelle Roberts hit a one-out single down the left-field line, setting up senior Faith Bohack who lifted a two-run homer to left center which made the score 2-1 in the Warhawks’ favor.
Sophomore Paige Porter retired the first two batters in the seventh before an error and two walks loaded the bases. Junior Melanie Coyne entered in relief in an attempt to close out the game but hit the very next batter which tied the game at two apiece. Similarly, in the eighth, a Warhawks’ error proved costly as that is how the winning run was scored.
ULM made a season-high five errors in the loss. While the top of the lineup found success and batted .417 (5-12), the bottom six went hitless in 15 at bats. Porter recorded a no decision after allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits through 6.2 innings.
ULM 3, Texas State 2
Freshmen Rachel Tadlock and Brie Wrobel each hit their first career homers and junior Melanie Coyne tossed a complete game as the Warhawks (16-15, 3-5 SBC) prevailed 3-2 in game two.
Wrobel’s solo homerun to left field came on a full count with one out in the top of the third and Tadlock’s occurred with one out in the sixth to left center. Coyne (10-11) allowed two runs (both earned) and scattered five hits through seven innings, striking out three and walking two. This was Coyne’s 11th complete game of the season and 24th of her career. Senior Faith Bohack and junior Rochelle Roberts each recorded two hits in the win.
The Bobcats (22-11, 3-5 SBC) refused to go quietly as they scored a run in the sixth and the seventh on a single and solo homer. The homerun came with none out, but Coyne kept her composure and retired the next three in order.
The rubber match will take place tomorrow at 1 p.m. CT inside Bobcat Softball Complex.
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App State Swept by South Alabama at Home
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University softball dropped two Sun Belt Conference games to South Alabama on Friday by scores of 2-0 and 7-2 inside Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium.
The Mountaineers fell to 7-26 overall, including 1-7 in the league, while the Jaguars ran their win streak to seven and now sit at 17-10, 5-2 in the SBC. Heather Josey was the only one with a hit in game one (double) before Natalie Orcutt, Jenny Dodd and Ally Walters each had two hits in the nightcap.
Game One: South Alabama 2, App State 0
App State was shut down by the two-time and defending Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week, Devin Brown (9-6), in game one as the hurler struck out a stadium-record 14 and walked only four. On the other side, in her first-career home start, Claire Eosso (0-2) turned in her best outing of the season. The freshman gave up two unearned runs in four innings and punched out a career-high four batters to go with three walks.
Vanessa Ciocatto pitched three innings of relief and didn't surrender a single run on three hits with one free pass and one strikeout. South Alabama scored its two runs (top of the fifth) on nine hits.
Game Two: South Alabama 7, App State 2
In game two, the Jaguars scored two in the second, three in the fifth and two more in the seventh. The Black and Gold were able to score one run in both the fourth and fifth frames. In the fourth, Dodd hit a solo home run to right center, her sixth blast of the season. In the fifth, Orcutt singled in Pepper Butler.
Annaleise Kennedy (2-8) was saddled with the loss in two innings of action and in relief, Ciocatto threw 2.2 innings followed by Eosso's two and one-third.
Next up, Appalachian plays host to the Jaguars in game three of the series on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.
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Eagles Split Doubleheader With UT Arlington, Win Game-One 3-0
STATESBORO, Ga. – The Georgia Southern softball team dipped back into Sun Belt Conference action Friday afternoon with a doubleheader at Eagle Field. The Eagles claimed the win in the first game 3-0 before falling 13-4 in the day's second game.
The two teams will play the rubber game in the series on Saturday, Mar. 26. The start time has been moved up one hour to 11 a.m. All fans are encouraged to bring their dogs to Eagle Field for Bark in the Park. Dogs will be permitted in the grassy area beyond the left field fence.
Game 1 – GS 3, UTA 0
The Eagles (16-15, 3-2) scored all of their runs for the first game in the bottom of the first inning and were able to cruise from there behind another solid pitching outing by freshman Dixie Raley. Morgan Robinson led the scoring drive when she sent a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Lydia Witkowski from third. A batter later, Hannah Farrell sent a single up the middle to score Taylor Rogers from second base and then Macy Weeks rounded out the scoring for the Eagles with a single down the right field foul line that gave Farrell enough time to score from second.
After the first inning, both pitchers were able to hold serve for the most part. Raley (11-7) pitched the entire game for the Eagles, tossing four strikeouts to earn the win while Samantha Clakley (12-3) was saddled with the loss.
Emily Snider led the way at the plate for Georgia Southern, going 2-for-3. Witkowski was the other Eagle with multiple hits in the game with a 2-for-4 outing which included scoring one of the Eagles' three runs.
Game 2 – UTA 13, GS 4 (6 Inn. )
In the day's second game, the Mavericks (23-5, 2-3) got on the board first with three runs in the first and another run in the top of the third. UT Arlington then added seven runs in the top of the fourth inning to go up 11-0.
The Eagles avoided the shutout and kept the game going in the bottom of the fifth inning when Morgan Robinson batted in both Rogers and Snider. Alesha Mann then sent a single to center field and scored both Robinson and Weeks to set the score at 11-4.
Despite the late push by the Eagles, the Mavs were able to add a pair of unearned runs in the top of the sixth to go back up 13-4 and then held the Eagles scoreless in the final half inning.
Kierra Camp (5-7) started the second game in the circle for the Eagles with Heather Felt, Amanda Chambers and Kailee Ramos coming on in relief. Sam Montes (6-1) was the pitcher of record for the Mavericks.
Once again, Snider was the leading Eagle at the plate with another two-hit performance. She and Robinson both went 2-for-4 at the dish with Robinson adding her two RBI and one run scored. Mann also had a pair of hits in the second game, going 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI.
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