Bobcats Earn Series Sweep At South Alabama
MOBILE, Ala. – Texas State defeated South Alabama 3-0 Sunday afternoon to earn the Sun Belt series sweep against the Jaguars. The Bobcats have now won nine straight against South Alabama, including the last six via shutouts.
The win improves the Bobcats to 29-8 overall and 11-3 in Sun Belt play, while South Alabama falls to 24-15 (6-10 Sun Belt).
Taylor Webb and Haleigh Davis accounted for the Bobcats' first two runs as the pair hit back-to-back homers in the second. Webb officially finished the day 1-for1 with two walks, while Davis was 1-for-3. Along with Webb and Davis, Ariel Ortiz, Corrina Liscano and Bailee Carter each collected base hits.
Randi Rupp, who chalked up her 200th strikeout of the season on a K of Savanna Mayo in the seventh inning, earned the win to improve to 19-5. The six-strikeout effort was the junior's seventh complete game shutout of the season. Rupp, who also picked up both wins in Saturday's doubleheader lowered her season ERA to an even 1.00.
Webb and Davis hit back-to-back homers in the top of the second to stake the Bobcats a 2-0 lead. Webb led off the inning hitting the first pitch she saw out at the left-field foul pole. Davis followed four pitches later, sending her round-tripper over the wall in left. Webb homer was her second of the series and eighth of the season, while Davis' bomb was the first of her career.
Liscano led off the Texas State fourth with a double to the left-center gap, moved to third on Kennedy Cline's fly out to right center and come home for a 3-0 TXST lead on Bailee Carter's RBI ground out to second. Liscano's extra-base hit was the Bobcats fourth of the day and 10th of the three-game series.
South Alabama registered just its second hit of the day as Destin Vicknair double off the wall in center in the home half of the fourth. But, Rupp immediately squelched the threat with a routine grounder to third.
The teams combined for a walk each throughout the final three innings as TXST made its lead stick to pick up its fourth all-time win at Jaguar Field.
The Jaguars' Vicknair (10-8) suffered the loss, giving up three runs – all earned – and five hits in her complete-game outing.
UP NEXT
Texas State return to Bobcat Softball Stadium on Wed., April 12 at 6 p.m. for a nonconference game against No. 14/14 Baylor. Tickets for the contest remain available and can be purchased at txstatebobcats.com/tickets.
BOBCATS' STRIKE OUT CANCER GAME SET FOR APRIL 12 VS. BAYLOR
• Texas State softball will support the NFCA Strikeout Cancer initiate on April 12 against Big 12 foe Baylor. The game, which is proudly presented by Phi Kappa Psi - Texas Gamma, will feature the Bobcats wearing pink jerseys in support of the initiative. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game and will have a chance to donate to Pink Heals Hays County, which champions the mission of inspiring communities to come together for the love of their people and not one specific disease or cause. For more information, visit PinkHealsHaysCounty.org.
FOLLOW THE BOBCATS
For all of the latest news and information on Bobcat softball, visit TXSTATEBOBCATS.com. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/TXStateSoftball along on Twitter (@TXStateSoftball) and Instagram (@TXStateSoftball).
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Cajuns Extend Win Streak, Grab Series Sweep of Troy
LAFAYETTE – 16th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Softball remained undefeated in Sun Belt Conference play and extended its season-high winning streak to 12 games with an 11-0 (5 inn.) win over Troy on Sunday at Lamson Park.
Aleah Craighton and Daniella Chavez provided the bulk of the offense as they each contributed three RBI. Craighton hit her third home run of the series to give Louisiana (29-5, 12-0 Sun Belt) a 3-0 lead in the first inning, while Chavez broke the game open in the third inning with a bases-clearing single that stretched the advantage to 6-0.
Alex Stewart was in control in the pitching circle. She limited Troy (16-25, 4-12 Sun Belt) to one hit and struck out seven in four innings. The Cajuns senior hurler faced only one batter over the minimum.
Louisiana completed the series sweep of Troy with Sunday's victory. The Ragin' Cajuns entered the day with the series victory in hand after claiming a 3-1, 11-0 (5 inn.) sweep on Saturday.
Now at 12-0 in Sun Belt play, the Ragin' Cajuns are off to the best start since the 2005 team began league play with the same mark.
Louisiana returns to action on Tuesday at Lamson Park with a 6 p.m. single game against Southeastern Louisiana. Due to the ticketing system at Lamson Park being under repair, fans are encouraged to buy tickets in advance on Ticketmaster.com. Fans choosing to purchase tickets at Lamson Park are encouraged to bring cash.
Other standout performances on offense for the Cajuns included a three-hit effort from Haley Hayden (3-for-3, 2 runs, RBI) which increased her career hits total to 250 and DJ Sanders who closed out the scoring with a solo home run in the fourth inning for her 19th home run of the season which establishes her new career-high total.
The Trojans attempted to answer Craighton's first-inning homer and scratch a run in the second inning after Stephanie Snyder (leadoff single) advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. Stewart struck out the next two batters – the first of five straight she would strikeout – to end the threat.
After Chavez's three-run single upped the lead to 6-0, the Ragin' Cajuns tacked on four more runs off of reliever Claire Graves to reach the run-rule mark. Corin Voinchè doubled home pinch runner Chelsea Lotief, then runs scored on three consecutive at bats – Kelli Martinez grounder, Kara Gremillion sacrifice fly and Hayden RBI single – to increase the margin to 10-0.
Sanders led off the bottom of the fourth with her home run to complete the scoring, then Macey Smith held Troy runners at second and third base in the top of the fifth to preserve the pitching staff's second shutout of the weekend.
DIAMOND NOTES
- Dating back to the 2016 series in Troy, Alex Stewart has held the Trojans scoreless, allowed just eight hits and struck out 28 over 19 innings pitched.
- Alex Stewart has yielded just four runs and 14 hits over her past 25 innings of work dating back to the March 25-26 series at South Alabama.
- Alex Stewart improved to 7-0 in Sun Belt play this season and lowered her ERA in league games to 1.31. The reigning Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year advanced her career Sun Belt record to 28-1.
- Three of Aleah Craighton's five hits (5-for-8 at the plate) in the series were home runs. She increased her season home run total to 10, giving her double digits for the third straight season.
- With the three RBI in Sunday's finale, Daniella Chavez ended the Troy series with four RBI. Adding in her six RBI from last week's Georgia Southern series, Chavez has produced 10 RBI the last two weekends.
- Louisiana's pitching staff limited Troy to one run, yielded just nine hits and struck out 19 over 17 innings of work in the weekend series.
- The combined shutout pitched by Alex Stewart and Macey Smith was the 10th shutout, overall, hurled by Cajuns pitchers and the third in the past two Sun Belt series.
- The Ragin' Cajuns pitching staff extended its season-long trend of holding foes to five runs or less to 34 games. In that streak, the staff has allowed two runs or fewer 22 times.
- Alex Stewart's seven strikeouts were two off her season-high nine (Mar. 25 at South Alabama) and marked the sixth time in seven Sun Belt starts she's reached five. Stewart has fanned 40 batters in 32 innings of Sun Belt play this season.
- Haley Hayden scored two runs to increase her career total to 226. She's now within five runs of passing Jerie Alexander (230 runs from 1999-02) for second place on the program's career list.
- Haley Hayden's three hits marked the third time this season reaching the mark and gave her a team-leading 12th multiple-hit game.
- Louisiana improved to 25-0 this season when scoring at least six runs. Sunday's production of 11 runs marked the 12th time reaching double digits.
- Louisiana's offense has produced multiple home runs for the 16th time in the past 20 games. The Ragin' Cajuns have hit 59 home runs through 34 games.
- The Ragin' Cajuns played error-free for the sixth straight game. The current streak began last weekend at Georgia Southern. During the timeframe, the squad has fielded 145 consecutive chances cleanly.
- Louisiana increased its all-time series lead over Troy to 34-5 and extended its current series win streak to eight games. The Ragin' Cajuns have won 15 of the past 16 meetings dating back to the 2012 season.
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Softball Completes Weekend Sweep with 9-1 Victory Over Coastal Carolina
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern softball team defeated Coastal Carolina 9-1 on Sunday afternoon to complete the Sun Belt conference series sweep. Macy Weeks knocked her first homerun of the season, a grand slam deep over the left field wall to help propel the Eagles to their third straight win over the Chanticleers.
The grand slam from Weeks got the Eagles on the board in the first inning and they never relinquished the lead. GS was able to tack on another four runs in the sixth after Emily Snider hit an RBI triple to wall and Shelby Wilson ended the game with a single that implemented the run rule and ending the game in six innings.
Dixie Raley went the distance in the circle, only allowing two hits and striking out five. At the plate, Mekhia Freeman led the way offensively with two hits. Emily Snider, Morgan Robinson, Shelby Wilson and Macy Weeks each had one.
The Eagles improve to 18-19 overall, 8-7 in Sun Belt conference play.
UP NEXT:
GS will travel to Boone, NC next weekend for a three-game set against Appalachian State.
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Softball Sweeps Weekend Series Against App State
MONROE, La. - The ULM softball team completed the Sun Belt Conference series sweep against Appalachian State on Sunday, defeating the Mountaineers by a 5-1 score. The Warhawks picked up five early runs on the day and never looked back in route to a victory.
TURNING POINT
-The Warhawks had a 5-0 lead in the fifth when Appalachian State got some offense going, loading the bases with no outs when Paige Porter used a double play groundout and then a groundout back to her as ULM got out of the jam with only one run surrendered.
NOTABLES
-The top five in the lineup (Sydney McKay, Cheyanne Lyon, Jayden Mount, Melanie Coyne and Hunter Hogan) were big on Sunday, combining for eight of the teams' 12 hits.
-Samantha Agamaite and Hunter Hogan both had a perfect 3-for-3 day at the dish, as Hogan knocked in a pair while Agamaite added an RBI on the afternoon.
-Paige Porter started in the circle for the Warhawks and recorded her sixth win of the season after five innings of work. Porter gave up four hits, allowing just one run and striking out three. Jesse Watts finished off the day on the mound, throwing two shutout innings allowing just one base runner.
-The Warhawks completed the three-game sweep on Sunday over the Mountaineers, marking ULM's first three-game sweep in SBC play since March 28 and 29, 2015 when the Warhawks swept Georgia Southern in Statesboro.
UP NEXT
-The Warhawks take on in-state rival Louisiana Tech on Wednesday evening at Geo-Surfaces Field with first pitch slated for 6:00 p.m.
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SB: Burchianti's Grand Slam Lifts UTA In Finale
ATLANTA - The bats came alive in the series finale to help UTA top Georgia State 7-3 on Sunday at Bob Heck Field in Sun Belt Conference play.
The Mavericks knocked 12 hits in Game 3 against the Panthers, lifting the Mavs back above .500 to a 20-19 record and 6-9 in league play. Whitney Walton combined with Bri Burchianti as the pair each had a homer, featured by Burchianti's pinch-hit grand slam in the fifth.
"It helps my confidence a lot knowing I can be put into those situations and I can be able to help out my teammates and get runs on the board," Burchianti said. "I was was just really happy and it was great. I love hitting home runs, especially grand slams, it's the greatest feeling in the game."
Burchianti also had a game-tying hit in a pinch-hit situation on Saturday.
The weekends top UTA hitter continued things right off the bat as Walton knocked a two-out solo shot in the top of the first. The freshman finished the weekend with a team-high six hits. Aileen Garcia led the way in Game 3 with three hits that included a double and a run scored. Krista Rude joined Walton with a pair of hits on Sunday.
"Before the game we talked about taking advantage of all our opportunities and leaving it all on the field," UTA coach Kristie Fox said. "I think the girls did a good job of putting it to practice immediately and getting those early runs."
The Mavs used four consecutive singles in the second to build up on the lead. Laura Curry and Garcia got things started on one out before Shelbi Sikes sent one up the middle to bring both home.
Burchianti put the exclamation point on the contest as her one-out grand slam in the fifth proved to be the game winner.
"Bri has been clutch for us in pinch-hit situations," Fox said. "We have a lot of confidence in her and her hit today was huge for us to get the win."
Georgia State attempted to get a comeback going in the sixth with a two-run homer. The Panthers loaded the bases in the next half inning, but Sandra Mendoza started a double play and Sam Clakley got the final strikeout to claim the win.
Clakley improved to 15-10 on the season, striking out two overall and allowing three earned over seven innings.
UTA returns to action when it hosts South Alabama on April 14 for a Sun Belt doubleheader. Action at Allan Saxe Field gets underway at 4 p.m.
"We know that we can compete with these types of teams," Burchianti said of what the team is taking from the weekend into next week's series. "We knew ahead of time that we could, but now everyone knows that we are that good and can compete with the second team in our conference."
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JAGUAR SOFTBALL DROPS SERIES FINALE TO TEXAS STATE
MOBILE, Ala. – Texas State's Randi Rupp picked up her third win of the series as the University of South Alabama softball team fell 3-0 Sunday afternoon to the Bobcats in the Sun Belt Conference series finale at Jaguar Field.
South Alabama (24-15, 6-10 SBC) will begin a seven-game road stretch with a three-game Sun Belt Conference series at Texas-Arlington. USA and UTA will open up with a doubleheader on Friday, April 14 (4 / 6 p.m.) and then close out the series on Sunday, April 15 with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m.
Sunday's shutout marked the sixth straight in the series for Texas State and also extended USA's scoreless streak versus the Bobcats to 45.2 innings.
The three-straight shutouts to Texas State over the weekend also marked the first time South has every been shutout in three-straight home games and a three-game home Sun Belt Conference series. The last time the Jags were shutout all three games of a league series was back during the 2012 season at Louisiana-Lafayette (4/6-7).
Following the series with ULL, that 2012 Jaguar club went on to close out the regular season by winning 10 of its last 13, and won its first Sun Belt tournament title and made its first NCAA Regional appearance.
The story of the game and the series for Texas State (29-8, 11-3 SBC) was the pitching of the junior right-hander. In her seven innings of work on Sunday, Rupp (19-5) allowed just two hits and four Jaguar base runners, while striking out six and walking two. The two-hit shutout was her seventh of the season.
With Devin Brown out due to illness, Destin Vicknair (10-8) pitched her third-straight complete game of the series, allowing just the three runs on five hits and striking out four. Vicknair also had one of South Alabama's two hits in the loss. Kristian Foster was 1-for-2 with a walk for the Jags.
Texas State got on the board first with back-to-back home runs by Webb and Davis to lead off the second inning. Webb's shot came on the very first pitch she saw from Vicknair and stayed just inside the foul pole – her eighth of the season and second of the series. Four pitches later, Davis followed with her first home run of the spring to put the Bobcats up 2-0.
The home runs marked the first time South has given up back-to-back homers since May 8, 2015 against Louisiana-Lafayette.
The Bobcats added another run in the top of the fourth, extending their lead out to 3-0. Liscano led off the inning with a double to the gap in left center – Texas State's fourth extra-base hit of the day and 10th of the series – and two batters later, the Bobcat third baseman came home on Bailee Carter's RBI ground out.
Those three runs would be all Rupp would need as she closed out the game as she retired 12 of the final 14 Jag batters that she faced, including the side in the bottom of the seventh – her third 1-2-3 inning of the contest.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Join the Bullpen Club, the softball specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. Members have access to purchase parking passes and receive Jaguar Softball gear. All donations to the Bullpen Club go directly to support the South Alabama softball program. For more information on how you can join visit: jaguarathleticfund.com/bullpenclub
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Strong Pitching Lifts No. 16 Louisiana Over Troy
LAFAYETTE, Louisiana – The No. 16 nationally ranked Ragin' Cajuns defeated the Trojans 11-0 in five innings at Lamson Park on Sunday. The Trojans had a hard time finding an answer to the UL-Lafayette pitching staff all weekend.
The Ragin' Cajuns put up three runs early after Aleah Creighton stepped into the box with runners on first and second and hit her third home run of the weekend in the bottom of the first inning to take a 3-0 lead.
The Trojan defense was able to hold the Ragin' Cajuns scoreless through the second inning, but Louisiana went through its entire lineup in the third inning, scoring seven runs off of six hits and added another run in the fourth to take the final 11-0 lead.
Stephanie Snyder and Cassidy McDilda earned Troy's first two hits on the day as Snyder singled up the middle in the second inning. A sacrifice bunt from Erica Davis in the second inning advanced Snyder to third, but the Trojans could not get a run across the plate.
With two outs, in the top of the fifth, McDilda singled to left field to get a runner on base for the Trojans. Senior Jordan Gray entered the game for Logan Calhoun and doubled to but two Troy runners in scoring position, but a 6-3 put out ending the opportunity for the Trojans.
Senior Rachel Rigney Brown earned her 15th start in the circle for the Trojans. She threw two innings with two strikeouts, and took the loss to move to 6-13 on the season. Claire Graves entered to relieve Rigney Brown and after one inning pitched and two earned runs, Meg Willis came in to close out the game.
For Louisiana, Alex Stewart got the start and the win after throwing four innings with seven strikeouts.
NOTEWORTHY
• Jordan Gray went 1-for-1 on the day with her second double of the season.
• At No. 16, Louisiana was the fourth ranked team the Trojans have faced this season. Troy walked off against No. 19 Pittsburgh, and fell to then No. 10 Minnesota and No. 13 LSU before dropping to Louisiana.
• Cassidy McDilda has reached base in four consecutive games for Troy, a current team high.
• Becca Hartley leads the team in batting average (.341), slugging percentage (.772), on base percentage (.471), runs scored (36), hits (42), RBIs (35), home runs (14) and total bases (95)
UP NEXT
Troy will return home to host ULM fir a weekend conference series on Friday and Saturday April 14-15. A doubleheader will be played on Friday at 4 and 6 p.m. Saturday's game will begin at 2 p.m., at the Troy Softball Complex.
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Softball Falls in Sunday Matinee at Georgia Southern
Statesboro, Ga. - The Coastal Carolina University softball team went into Sunday's action at Georgia Southern looking to get out of town with a win in the weekend series. They were unable to accomplish that in a 9-1 loss to the Eagles.
Hits were hard to come by on the weekend and Sunday was no different as the Chanticleers managed two hits; Adriana Toro had one of the hits the team's lone rbi while Kailey Mellen had the other hit.
Ashley Guillette (10-6) took the loss despite only giving up two hits in her five innings of work. The problem for Guillette was the seven walks she issued and three batters she hit.
Georgia Southern jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning with CCU (27-13/ 5-7 Sun Belt) scored their lone run in the third. The Eagles added a run in the fourth and four more in the bottom of the sixth to end the game.
The Chanticleers will be back in action Tuesday April 11, when the Gamecocks of South Carolina make their way to Conway. The two teams are scheduled to begin play at 5 p.m.
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Softball Slips to ULM in Game Three of SBC Series
MONROE, LA. – Natalie Orcutt extends her reached on base streak to 13 consecutive games as Appalachian State University softball falls to ULM in game three of the weekend conference series at the ULM Softball Complex on Geo-Surfaces Field in Monroe, La on Sunday.
The Mountaineers (12-24, 0-12 SBC) suffered their 12th conference loss on Sunday as the Warhawks (24-15, 8-7 SBC) snatched the series sweep. Five Mountaineers smacked out hits on day two in Monroe, and three pitchers saw action in the circle striking out three Warhawks and not walking a single batter for the fourth time this season.
Game Three: ULM 5 , App State 1
ULM started the game off hot grasping a 3-0 lead in the first and tacked on one run apiece in the following two innings to extend their advantage to 5-0 at the bottom of the third.
After cranking out two hits in the first, the Mountaineers fell into a three-inning offensive funk until Keri White and Sidney Russell slapped out back-to-back singles, and Megan Walker drew a walk to load the bases. Then, Orcutt stepped up to the plate and grounded into a double play that freed up a scoring lane for White to cut ULM’s lead to 5-1 at the end of the fifth.
With some momentum, the Apps were ready to rally back into the game in the next two innings, but ULM held App to only one more hit to yank game three away from the Mountaineers, 5-1.
Up Next
App State softball will return to the High Country April 14-15 for a three-game conference series against long-time rival Georgia Southern at the Sywassink/Lloyd Family Softball Stadium.
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PANTHERS FALL SHORT IN BID FOR SERIES SWEEP
ATLANTA - Georgia State (26-13, 11-4 SBC) couldn’t finish off the series sweep against UT Arlington, losing 7-3 Sunday in the finale.
Megan Litumbe hit her team-leading ninth home run of the season Sunday and Morgan Brown tallied a 3-for-4 day, but the Panthers were unable to recover from a UTA pinch-hit grand slam in the fifth inning that gave the Mavericks a 7-0 lead.
The Panthers loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the seventh, but only one run would come in as the Mavericks handed GSU its first conference loss at home this season in nine contests.
Annie Davis was effective in the circle Sunday afternoon as she helped UTA scoreless over the final 2.2 innings.
Georgia State has Monday off before traveling to Kennesaw State Tuesday to face the Owls. The Panthers then go to Auburn Wednesday to take on the No. 5 Tigers.
Follow along with Georgia State on Twitter (@GSU_Softball) for the latest news.