Late Inning Rally Lifts Texas State Softball To Victory Over Houston Baptist
HOUSTON – Late inning runs in the sixth and the seventh by the Texas State softball team lifted the Bobcats to a 2-1 victory over Houston Baptist Wednesday afternoon. The Bobcats improve to 24-15 overall and 5-8 on the road. The victory over HBU was the second win over the Southland Conference foe this season.
Texas State remains undefeated against Houston Baptist with an all-time record of 6-0.
The Huskies took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run by Shay Orsak.
After the home run in the bottom of the first, Jaelyn Young led off the second with a double to right center field. Young advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Sara Rupp, but was stranded there as Houston Baptist then retired the Bobcats in order.
The first seven recorded outs by the Huskies were all strikeouts by Randi Rupp. Rupp finished the day with nine strikeouts which brings her season total up to 200.
Still trailing 1-0 to the Huskies in the top of the sixth, the Texas State offense started to make some noise. With one out, Corrina Liscano recorded a single through the left side. Two batters later, Sara Rupp hit a double to right center field to score Liscano and to tie the ball game up at 1-1.
In the bottom of the sixth with runners on first and second and one out, Quincy Charleston came in relief for Rupp. Charleston promptly pitched into a double play to end the inning.
Tied at 1-1, Braegan Hamilton stepped in to pinch hit and she hit the fourth Bobcat double of the day to right center. An infield single by Kimberlin Naivar moved Hamilton to third and with runners on second and third with one out after Naivar stole second, Ariel Ortiz hit a deep ball to left field that scored the game-winning run.
Three straight strikeouts by Charleston in the bottom of the seventh secured her third victory of the season.
Texas State finished the day with six hits, four of which were doubles. The Bobcat pitching staff finished the game with 12 strikeouts.
The Bobcats will now take the next week off before returning home to host Lamar on April 13. First pitch against the Cardinals is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Bobcat Softball Stadium.
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Caldwell, Drake Homer in Loss to Georgia Tech
ATLANTA – Georgia State (19-19, 4-5 SBC) lost on a walkoff single to Georgia Tech (15-21, 3-8 ACC) Wednesday at Mewborn Field. The Panthers rallied from down one in the top of the seventh, but the Yellow Jackets won the game 4-3 on an RBI-single in the home half to end it.
Kensey Caldwell hit a walkoff home run in the 12th inning in the first meeting between the two schools back on Feb. 17. The junior recorded the first hit of Wednesday’s game, also a solo home run, to give GSU the 1-0 advantage in the top of the second. Caldwell’s sixth homer of the season was a no-doubter to left field.
Ivie Drake added on in the third inning with a leadoff solo blast of her own. Drake’s team-leading ninth home run went out to straight center field even with the wind blowing in.
Georgia State’s 2-0 lead would hold until the bottom half of the fifth inning. The Yellow Jackets picked up a baserunner on a walk and then scored two runs on two singles to tie the game.
Georgia Tech took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth on an error by the Panther defense, the first of the game. Georgia State rallied back in the top of the seventh as Drake doubled with one out and moved to third on a Reagan Morgan single. As Caldwell stepped up to the plate with two outs, the GT catcher stood up and extended her hand as if to signal an intentional walk. However, the first pitch was straight down the middle and Caldwell took advantage, lining a single into center field to bring home Drake and tie the game.
The Yellow Jackets got a single with one out in the home half of the seventh and the runner moved to second on a wild pitch. The game-winner came off the bat of Courtney Ziese, who lined a ball into left-center field that was deep enough to score the runner from second.
Senior pitcher Katie Worley threw four innings and gave up just two hits while keeping Georgia Tech off the scoreboard. Worley also recorded three strikeouts, but did not get a decision. Freshman Mandy Chance entered the game in the fifth and allowed four runs, two earned, on five hits and was hit with the loss.
In two games against the Yellow Jackets this season, Caldwell is 5-for-8 with two home runs and three RBI.
Georgia State is at home this weekend as No. 5 UL Lafayette visits the Bob Heck Softball Complex at Panthersville. GSU and ULL will play a DH on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday followed by the series finale on Sunday at noon.
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Mavs drop heartbreaker to rival North Texas
DENTON, Texas – In a pitcher's duel that featured a combined 11 hits, UT Arlington softball fell in a heartbreaker to Metroplex rival North Texas 1-0 in eight innings on Wednesday.
"We left too many runners on base and at the end of the day that stinks," junior Mallory Foster said. " We need to be able to score people from second base and that's what it comes down to."
The Mavs posed their biggest threat in the top of the eighth with a leadoff double by the reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week by Britnea Barilli. A hit-by-pitch to Foster put runners on first and second with one out for Marisa Datko. Datko drove a base hit to left but Barilli was gunned down at the plate to end the inning.
UNT scored the walk-off run in the bottom half on a two-out base hit to right center scoring the winning run from second.
The Mavs put up seven hits overall with Foster leading the way with a career-high two doubles, an intentional walk and a hit-by-pitch. She was the lone player for either side to record multiple hits in the game and reach base in all four of her plate appearances.
"I have been working really hard in the cage and I just went up there with some confidence and I was seeing the ball and trying to get stuff done for my team," Foster said.
Samantha Clakley fell to 14-6 on the season after tying a career-high with eight strikeouts. Clakley gave up just four hits.
UTA threatened early and often but were unable to push any runs across. Foster's first double of the game came in the second with one-out but was left stranded.
The Mavs had another runner reach as far as third in the third after a leadoff single by Krista Rude and a team-leading 10th sacrifice bunt by Stokes moved her to second. A groundout by Mendoza moved her to third but another groundout ended the threat.
Meanwhile, Clakley was dealing on the mound retiring nine of the first 11 batters she would face.
After a leadoff single by the Mean Green in the sixth inning of a scoreless game, Clakley got a huge strikeout for the first out, followed by a strike 'em out, throw 'em out by Kacey Everett to end the inning.
The Mavs stay on the road but return Sun Belt action with a three-game series at SA-Mobile April 9-10.
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Warhawks Strong as Steel(e) in 3-2 Win over Louisiana Tech
MONROE, La. – The ULM softball squad showed its calming demeanor in an emotional 3-2 win over Louisiana Tech Wednesday inside ULM Softball Complex.
The night began with the two teams honoring Steele Becton, a three-year-old boy with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), by letting Becton toss out the first pitch.
The action in the game began early as Senior Amye Barre grounded to first but Lady Techster (19-12) first baseman Pauline Tufi airmailed the throw to second and junior Rochelle Roberts came around to score.
Junior Melanie Coyne (13-14) held LA Tech off the board until the fifth inning when senior Anna Cross lifted a two-run home run to left that gave the Lady Techsters a 2-1 advantage.
The Warhawks (19-21) found an answer in the bottom half as junior center fielder Sidney Coy singled to commence the inning. After Coy stole second, Roberts rocketed another single up the middle and the ball went right through LA Tech center fielder Tori Charters’ legs, allowing Roberts to advance around the bases.
The Coyne-Cross showdown came about again in the sixth with the bases loaded after Lady Techsters second baseman Karlee Jensen earned a 13-pitch walk. This time, Coyne got the best of Cross, getting the star right fielder to ground into a fielder’s choice to Bohack at short. Coyne then retired pinch hitter Taria Paige on a lineout to Barre at first to end the scoring threat.
The Lady Techsters had runners on first and second with one out in the seventh before Coyne buckled down to retire the final two batters and seal the victory for the Warhawks. Coyne forced LA Tech to leave 11 runners on base.
Barre was plunked for the 38th time of her career, tying a program record. The Warhawks are now 12-1 when holding opponents to two runs or less.
ULM returns to action this weekend inside ULM Softball Complex in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series versus Troy. The first two games will take place Saturday in a 1 p.m. CT doubleheader.
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Troy Falls to No. 3 Auburn
AUBURN, Alabama – Troy couldn't overcome eight runs in the first two innings from No. 3 Auburn in an 8-1 loss on Wednesday night at Jane B. Moore Field.
Auburn (34-4) jumped to an early 4-0 lead in the first inning when Jade Rhodes singled to right field and brought Carlee Wallace and Emily Carosone around for the score. Madi Gipson was next to the plate and sent the ball out of the park to dead center and scored two more runs.
The Tigers plated four more runs in the second inning and made the score 8-0. The first run of the inning came on a wild pitch before Carosone singled through the right side and scored two more runs. The final Auburn run came off the bat of Rhodes when she doubled to right center and brought Kasey Cooper around for the score.
Troy's (23-13) lone run of the game came in the fifth inning when Heather Johnston sent a solo-shot over the left center wall. Erica Davis and Carli Kayler were the only other Trojans to have hits on the night.
Lexi Davis (5-0) allowed just one run on three hits with seven strikeouts over seven innings of work for Auburn. Ashley Rainey (12-10) took the loss for the Trojans after she allowed six runs on three hits in one-plus inning of work. Claire Graves (5-2) had an impressive showing when she came out of the bullpen and gave up only one hit in 3.2 innings of work.
The Trojans will head to Monroe, La., this weekend to get back into conference play as they take on ULM in a three-game series. First pitch of a doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday and 12 p.m. for the final game of the series on Sunday.
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Orcutt Leads Apps to Midweek Split with Radford
BOONE, N.C. - Natalie Orcutt (Senoia, Ga./Starr’s Mill) continued her exceptional freshman campaign on Wednesday with three home runs in two games and her first-career four-hit game as Appalachian State University softball took game one against Radford 6-1, but dropped the nightcap by a score of 10-6.
“Today was another great effort by Vanessa (Ciocatto) in the circle and Natalie (Orcutt) did a great job of leading us offensively,” said head coach Janice Savage. “In the second game, we lost focus and made too many mistakes, which cost us a ballgame. We will learn from those mistakes, get better tomorrow at practice and take the positives with us into the weekend against Georgia Southern.”
The Mountaineers are now 9-30 overall, which includes a 3-3 mark against the Big South Conference this season, while the Highlanders headed down the mountain with a 21-15 record.
As mentioned above, Orcutt is putting forth a historic effort in her first spring on campus. On the day, she went 6-for-7 with four runs scored, one double, three bombs, three RBI, and 16 total bases. Since a 2-of-16 drought in the South Alabama series and the first two games against UT Arlington, the Senoia, Ga., native has gone 9-for-11 (.818) to raise her average to a team-best .383. That mark is good for seventh in the Sun Belt Conference, sixth in program history and second-best in App State history for a freshman.
Wednesday, Orcutt, Cara Parker (Lake Park, Ga./Lowndes) and Jenny Dodd (Mocksville, N.C./West Forsyth) combined to go 15-of-19 (.789) with seven runs, two doubles, four home runs, eight RBI, and 29 total bases. All three now have batting averages above .300 and if Orcutt and Dodd can finish with averages above .300, it’d be the first time in school history two freshmen have done so in the same season.
Game One: App State 6, Radford 1
The Black and Gold scored one run in the first and five in the six for the day’s first contest. In the first, Orcutt hit her first home run of the day, a solo jack to center field. In the sixth, Parker hit a two-run blast and Tiffany Taynor (New Smyrna Beach, Fla./New Smyrna Beach) went deep for the first time this season with a three-runner to left.
That was all the run support Vanessa Ciocatto (La Habra, Calif./Delaware State/La Habra) (7-14) needed as she went the distance for the sixth time this season with one earned run given up on five hits. In her last nine appearances, including five starts, the junior hurler has a 2.45 ERA in 34.1 innings pitched with a 3-3 record, and two complete games. During that span, her ERA has come down from 5.58 to 4.63.
Game Two: Radford 10, App State 6
App State scored two runs in the first with an RBI single (Dodd) and an RBI fielder’s choice (Taynor) before another run in the second on Orcutt’s second four-bagger of the day. At that point, the home team was up 3-1 on its visitors.
However, over the course of the next five innings, Radford would outscore Appalachian State 9-3 to pull out the 10-6 victory on the Apps’ home turf. The Mountaineers’ didn’t turn in the best defensive effort for the second game as they had four errors and six of the Highlanders’ 10 runs were unearned.
Annaleise Kennedy (Kents Store, Va./Fluvanna) (2-10) was saddled with the loss in 5.1 innings pitched with nine runs surrendered, only three of which were earned, on eight hits. In relief, Claire Eosso (Moyock, N.C./Currituck County) went two-thirds of an inning and Katherine Johnson (Alameda, Calif./Wichita State/Alameda) made her first appearance in over a month with one inning of work.
Next up, App State travels to Georgia Southern for a twinbill on Saturday (1 p.m.) and game three on Sunday (1 p.m.).