Bobcats Walk-Off In Extras Against No. 17/18 Louisiana
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Jaelyn Young hit a bases-loaded chopper back to the pitcher to drive home Bailee Carter for the winning run as Texas State defeated No. 17/18 Louisiana 2-1 in eight innings Saturday afternoon.
Carter roped a double to the right-field wall to lead off the eighth. Kimberlin Naivar sac bunted Carter to second, Christiana McDowell was hit by a pitch and Ariel Ortiz was walked on four straight pitches to load the bases. Young fell behind the count 0-2 before hitting a high chopper back to the circle for the game-winning RBI.
The win was not only the Bobcats' second victory over a top-25 opponent this week, but was the first victory over Louisiana in 10 tries dating back to a 14-13 triumph in March 2015. TXST improved to 31-10 on the season and 12-5 in Sun Belt plays. The Ragin' Cajuns (32-6, 14-1 Sun Belt) had their win streak halted at 15 game and suffered their first league loss of the campaign.
Randi Rupp, who did not factor into the decision, started and went five complete with five strikeouts and allowed only two hits and an unearned run. Jodi Paige Williams (6-3) came on in relief in the sixth and pitched the final 3.0 innings to earn the win. The crafty senior allowed only two hits, while also notching a strikeout.
Louisiana's Alyssa Denham (13-2) suffered the loss, giving up both of the Bobcats' runs and four hits in her 7.1 innings.
Each team collected four hits with only the Ragin' Cajuns' Haley Hayden and TXST's Carter finishing with multi-hit performances. Hayden was 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Carter was 2-for-3 with a RBI and run scored.
Texas State took a 1-0 lead in the second on Carter's RBI single to left center. Corrina Liscano led off the inning being hit by a pitch and was sac bunted over to second by Kennedy Cline – her team-leading ninth sac bunt of the season. Two batters later Carter fisted a single to left center that scored Liscano from second for the early Bobcat advantage.
After not capitalizing on the Bobcats fielding error in the fourth, Louisiana made sure to take advantage of a misplay in the fifth. Kelli Martinez reached on the TXST error with one out and advanced to second on Kara Gremillion's walk. After DJ Sander flew out to center, Haley Hayden singled through the left side to plate Martinez and knot the score. Four pitches later Aleah Craighton hit a ball to right center that looked to be headed out of the park McDowell tracked the ball down and brought it back over the wall for the third out.
The Ragin' Cajuns threatened in the top of the seventh, advancing a runner to third, but Williams escaped unscathed with a ground out to short. The next six batter went down in order, setting up the Bobcats' second walk-off win of the week.
UP NEXT
Texas State plays a pair of midweek games next week. The Bobcats travel to Lamar for a 3 p.m. first pitch on Tuesday, then returns to Bobcat Softball Stadium for a 6 p.m. game against McNeese on Wednesday.
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Eagles Complete Weekend Sweep with 11-2 Victory over App State
BOONE, NC - The Georgia Southern softball team completed a weekend sweep over Appalachian State with a 11-2 victory on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles have won their last six conference games and now improve to 21-19 overall, 10-7 in Sun Belt conference play.
Mekhia Freeman and Morgan Robinson picked up hits in the first inning to get runners on, and an RBI single from Alesha Mann brought around Freeman and gave Georgia Southern the early lead. The Eagles threatened again in the second, loading up the bases. Morgan Robinson hit a single to score two runs, and Alesha Mann hit another RBI to extend the lead 4-0.
Lydia Witkowski knocked a double off the wall in the third that allowed India Davis to come around and score from first. Witkowski later stole third and was able to score on a wild throw, extending the Eagles lead 6-0.
Morgan Robinson continued her hot day at the plate in the third, smashing a three-run homerun deep over the centerfield wall for her eighth of the season. The Mountaineers scored in the fourth on a homerun from Katie Mathewson, and pushed another run across in the fifth. Mekhia Freeman knocked a 2-RBI single in the sixth to implement the run rule and bring the score to 11-2.
Dixie Raley (W, 12-13) threw her second complete game of the weekend, only allowing four hits while striking out six.
UP NEXT:
GS will travel to face Georgia Tech on Wednesday, April 19th in a single game. The Eagles and Yellow Jackets will face off at 5 p.m. ET.
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JENNINGS LEADS PANTHERS TO SERIES WIN
CONWAY, S.C. - Georgia State (28-16, 13-5 SBC) defeated Coastal Carolina 5-1 Saturday to win the series over the Chanticleers. Kinsley Jennings threw a complete game, allowing just one run on five hits.
Jennings improved to 14-7 on the year with the impressive outing, leading the Panthers to their fifth Sun Belt series win in six weekends. Georgia State’s 13-5 mark in conference play currently ranks the Panthers second behind Louisiana, setting up a battle between the top two teams next weekend in Lafayette, La.
Georgia State scored first with a Kensey Caldwell RBI in the first inning, but Coastal Carolina responded with a solo home run in the bottom half.
Remington Hasty led off the second inning with a solo home run, her fourth of the season, to put GSU up 2-1. Megan Litumbe brought in another run with a sac fly to get her team-leading 40th RBI of the season.
Georgia State added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth with the help of a CCU error to pull in front 5-1. The Chanticleers committed four errors in the contest as only two of GSU’s five runs were earned.
Georgia State faces its second top-25 opponent in a week Wednesday as the Panthers go to Athens to play the No. 19 Georgia Bulldogs.
Follow along with Georgia State on Twitter (@GSU_Softball) for the latest news.
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VICKNAIR AND FOSTER HELP JAGUAR SOFTBALL PICK UP SERIES FINALE WIN OVER TEXAS-ARLINGTON
ARLINGTON, Texas – Senior pitcher Destin Vicknair tossed a one-hit, shutout, complete game and junior shortstop Kristian Foster was 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair of RBI as the University of South Alabama softball team picked up a 5-0 win over Texas-Arlington at Allan Saxe Field in Saturday's series finale.
"The job Vicknair did in the circle today for us was huge; to throw a one-hitter against that ball club was big," South Alabama head coach Becky Clark. "She's been throwing a ton of innings for us with Devin [Brown] out. She didn't just give us a chance today, I thought she was dominant. UTA never really squared anything up and she moved the ball around the zone the entire game and changed up speeds on them.
"As far as our team, I'm really proud of them, because I felt like we played hard all weekend and never felt like there was a time that we weren't playing hard. We made those errors in the first game and we didn't help ourselves out, but other than that, I thought we played hard the whole time. When you're going through some of the things we are going through right now, this kind of helps build the team and create who you are; I just see us becoming tougher and tougher. We have to let this make us a better team, bring us closer together and prepare us for down the road. I'm proud of our players; I thought they showed a lot of character today."
South Alabama (25-17, 7-12 SBC) will next play its second-straight three-game Sun Belt Conference road series at Louisiana-Monroe. USA and ULM will open up with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 22 (1 / 3 p.m.) and then close out the series on Sunday, April 23 with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m.
Kaleigh Todd, Amanda Minahan, Katelyn Gruich, Savanna Mayo and Dayla Gulledge also recorded a hit for the Jags with Gulledge driving in three on a sixth-inning pinch-hit home run.
The three-hit game marked the 12th multi-hit game of the season and 22nd of her career for Foster, while the two RBI performance was her 10th multi-RBI game of the spring and 20th as a Jaguar. Foster now has 30 runs driven this season and over her last 13 games, the Pelham, Ala., native has recorded at least one RBI in 10 of those contest and 16 total.
After South had allowed 12 runs on 19 hits in the first two games of the series, Destin Vicknair (11-9) was outstanding in the circle as she tossed the one-hitter and recorded her 13th complete game of the season. Vicknair walked just two and struck out one.
Texas-Arlington dropped to 22-20 overall and 8-10 in Sun Belt play with the loss. Sam Clakley (17-11) – who earned wins in both games yesterday for the Mavericks – suffered the loss on Saturday, allowing five runs on eight hits in six innings of work.
Aileen Garcia registered the lone hit for UTA.
UTA threatened to score in the bottom of the second as the Mavs loaded the bases with a lead-off single by Garcia and a pair of two-out walks, but Vicknair was able to battle back and get Kacey Everett to fly out to right to get out of the jam. Vicknair would go on to record the next 10 batters before running into trouble in the sixth.
South capitalized on the missed scoring opportunity the next half inning and took a 2-0 lead on Foster's one-out, two-run single to center, scoring MC Nichols and Todd. Nichols walked on five pitches to lead the inning off and Todd then reached on an infield single, before moving into scoring position on Lowe's sacrifice bunt, setting the table for Foster.
The Jaguars added three more runs and extended their lead to 5-0 with three runs in the top half of the sixth. The inning started off uneventful as Clakley retired USA's first two batters, but with two away, Mayo lined a single to center to ignite the offense. Abby Krzywiecki followed with a pinch-hit walk, bringing Gulledge to the plate. The sophomore then drove Clakley's 2-2 pitch deep over the left field wall. The three-run shot was her first hit of the spring and the fourth home run of her Jaguar career.
In the home half of the sixth, the Mavericks threatened again as Sandra Mendoza was hit by a pitch to begin the inning and Krista Rude reached on a throwing error while attempting to sacrifice Mendoza over to second. After a fielder's choice placed runners at the corners, Vicknair got Garcia to line out into an inning-ending double play and get out of the jam.
Vicknair would retire the Mavs in order in the seventh to seal the win.
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Bobcats Slip by Ragin' Cajuns in Extra-Innings Finale
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State claimed an extra-innings pitcher's duel from 17th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Softball, sneaking out a 2-1 win in eight innings in Saturday's series finale at Bobcat Stadium.
Texas State's Bailee Carter opened the bottom of the eighth with a double down the right field line, snapping a string of 11 straight retired by Louisiana's Alyssa Denham. Carter later scored the winning run when Jaelyn Young's bases-loaded infield single bounced high enough and out of the reach of Denham's glove.
Haley Hayden finished 2-for-4 at the plate and drove home the Ragin' Cajuns run. She plated Kelli Martinez with a two-out single in the fifth inning that evened the score at 1-all and led to extra innings.
The loss snapped a season-best, 15-game winning streak for Louisiana (32-6, 14-1 Sun Belt).
The Ragin' Cajuns entered the afternoon with the Sun Belt series victory in hand – a record 34th straight dating back to March 2013 – after claiming an 8-1, 12-4 (6 inn.) doubleheader sweep on Friday. The 14-0 SBC start marked the second-best in program history trailing only the 2001 and 2004 teams which started 18-0.
Louisiana returns to action on Wednesday in College Station, Texas, facing No. 5 Texas A&M in a 6:30 p.m. single game at the Aggie Softball Complex. The game will be broadcast on TalkRadio 960-AM in the Lafayette area and RadioPup worldwide, while a live stream will be available on WatchESPN.com.
Denham tossed 7-1/3 innings in the circle holding the Bobcats (31-10, 12-5 Sun Bet) to four hits, while engaging in a duel with Randi Rupp through the fifth inning.
Rupp worked five innings, struck out five, yielded two hits and one unearned run. Jodi Paige Williams took over in the sixth inning and collected the win in relief for the Bobcats after tossing three scoreless innings.
After both pitchers stranded two base runners in the first inning, Texas State grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Carter singled home Corinna Liscano (leadoff hit by pitch) with two outs.
After a one-out hit by pitch in the fourth inning, Denham bore down and began her string of consecutive Bobcats batters retired. That held the hosts in check in time for the Ragin' Cajuns to force extras.
Martinez reached on a one-out error in the fifth, advanced to second on a walk by Kara Gremillion and rounded third with the tying run when Hayden singled through the left side off of Rupp.
A great defensive play by Texas State center fielder Christiana McDowell on the very next at bat prevented the Cajuns from adding multiple runs. Aleah Craighton lifted a fly ball into deep center field where McDowell climbed the wall to make the catch and keep the 1-1 tie intact.
Williams and the Bobcats escaped a scoring threat in the seventh inning after DJ Sanders walked with two outs, moved to third on Hayden's single through the right side and a bobbled ground ball at shortstop was recovered in time to retire Craighton at first base for the final out.
Diamond Notes
- Haley Hayden posted multiple hits for the fourth time in the past five games. The senior right fielder from West Monroe leads the Ragin' Cajuns with 15 multiple-hit games this season.
- Haley Hayden's RBI increased her career total to 197, leaving her three shy of 200 career RBI. When she reaches the mark, she'll have surpassed the 200 mark in career runs, hits and RBI.
- The effort in the circle capped off a strong series for Alyssa Denham. The freshman pitcher worked 14 innings, allowed only two runs and six hits. Saturday's performance added to a masterful relief effort on Friday in which she took over in the first inning after Alex Stewart's illegal pitch issues and held the Bobcats hitless until the seventh inning and scoreless over 6-2/3 innings.
- The Ragin' Cajuns pitching staff continued its season-long trend of holding foes to five runs or fewer. The unit held the opposition to two runs or less for the 24th time in 38 outings.
- Louisiana's defensed played error free in the entire series, extending the string of consecutive games without an error in Sun Belt Conference play to nine straight (dates back to Georgia Southern series).
- The Ragin' Cajuns lost for the first time since March 9 vs. Baylor. Of the six losses this season, four have been by a single run.
- Louisiana holds a 29-4 edge in the all-time series with Texas State. The advantage is 10-2 in Sun Belt regular season meetings.
- The Ragin' Cajuns made only their second visit to San Marcos to face the Bobcats. The lone prior trip was in 2015 which was the first SBC series at Bobcat Stadium. Louisiana is 4-2 in San Marcos vs. Texas State.
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SB: Jags Top Mavs In Series Finale
ARLINGTON, Texas -- A lack of action at the plate held UTA softball from a SBC series sweep as South Alabama stole the finale 5-0 Saturday at Allan Saxe Field.
UTA (22-20, 8-10) taped just one hit after claiming a Friday doubleheader on pairs of walkoff home runs. The Mavericks were 0-9 all-time against South Alabama (25-17, 7-12) heading into the weekend. The series win was the Mavs' third of the season.
"Overall, the weekend was really good with us taking two of three at home against a good team," UTA coach Kristie Fox said. "That's the first time we've ever beaten them, so to get two is breaking a barrier and showing that the program is getting better. We didn't put any pressure on their defense today, so we have to be able to make that adjustment quicker."
The Jaguars used a pair of multi-run innings to power past UTA. A two-run lead built in the third was padded on a three-run pinch-hit blast by Dayla Gulledge.
Aileen Garcia was the lone hit for the Maverick offense. Her leadoff single to center field in the bottom of the second frame was a catalyst for a rally that saw bases loaded, but UTA couldn’t convert.
South Alabama struck first in the third inning as a leadoff walk and base hit were both plated on a two-RBI single from Kristian Foster.
Sam Clakley (17-11) tossed six innings in her loss, allowing all five runs on eight hits and two walks. Mariah Denson made an appearance in the seventh inning to retire the side including a punchout.
UTA makes its first-ever league road trip to Coastal Carolina for a three-game series beginning with a Saturday doubleheader at 1 p.m.
"Coastal is a good ball club," Fox said. "They're playing tough with a lot of close games. They have a good pitching staff, so we have to be ready to compete."
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The Chanticleers Fall to Georgia State in Game Three
CONWAY - The Coastal Carolina softball team dropped its series deciding game three to Georgia State 5-1, Saturday afternoon, in Conway.
Georgia State applied the pressure early getting the bases loaded with no outs, and was only able to push across a single run for the one run lead.
Kailey Mellen, one for three, homered in the bottom half of the firs to knot it up at 1-1.
The Panthers took control in the second inning, with their second opportunity with bases loaded and no outs, due to two Chanticleer miscues. GSU could only push across two runs for the 3-1 lead.
Taylor Rahach dropped to 12-5 on the season, allowed seven hits, four runs, two earned. Ashley Guillette worked the final two frames allowing one hit and one run while striking out two.
The Panthers Kinsley Jennings, improved to 14-7, kept Coastal out of synch scattering five hits and allowing the one run with three strikeouts.
The Chants are now 29-15 overall and 7-10 in Sun Belt play and Georgia State moved to 28-16 and 13-5 in conference play.
Coastal will next be in action Tuesday, April 18, as it travels to Charleston to take on College of Charleston in a non-conference match up, first pitch scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
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Hartley and Gray’s Grand Slams Spark Run Rule Victory Over ULM
TROY, Alabama- There was no shortage of hits in Saturday's series finale against ULM as Troy posted 11 hits and 12 runs in its 12-2 win over the Warhawks. Two grand slams from Becca Hartley and Jordan Gray led the effort for the Trojans.
ULM (28-16, 10-8 SBC) took an early lead in the first inning as an RBI single from Melanie Coyne scored Sydney McKay from third. The Trojans (17-27, 5-14) didn't let the Warhawks hold on to the lead long as they scored five runs in the bottom of the second. With bases loaded, Taylor Corbett got hit by a pitch to bring a run across the plate.
Hartley came in clutch with her second grand slam of the season and third of her career with two outs on the board. The Troy, Ala., native now has 15 home runs on the season.
ULM got its last run of the game with a bases loaded walk, but huge defensive efforts from Troy got the Trojans out of the jam with no more damage done.
A seven running inning sealed Troy's victory in the bottom of the fourth. Back-to-back singles from Corbett, Hartley and Katie Webb put three on for the Trojans. With one out, Madeline Porter barreled a base hit to left field to score Hartley. Brooke Echols walked with the bases loaded to bring another Trojan home. Carli Kayler followed with a two out base hit to the short stop to again load the bases for Troy.
A timely pinch hitting decision put senior Jordan Gray at the plate. On a 2-2 count, Gray blasted her third home run of the year and first career grand slam to give the Trojans their 12-2 run rule victory over ULM.
Troy had a dominant outing in the circle as Meg Willis picked up the start and the win to improve to 2-2 on the season. Through 3.1 innings of work, Willis only allowed one earned run. Claire Graves came in as relief and only allowed one hit and no runs.
At the plate for Troy, Taylor Corbett went 2-for-2and scored one run. Hartley put up three hits on the day and stepped across the plate twice. Porter went 1-for-2 and also scored two runs on the day. Gray went 1-for-1 with one run and four RBIs with her first career grand slam.
NOTEWORTHY
• Seven different Trojans put up a hit in Saturday's win.
• Hartley is just one home run shy of tying Hannah Day's third place single season record of 16 home runs that Day hit in 2016.
• The last time Troy hit multiple grand slams in a game was in 2013 as the Trojans defeated FIU 14-9.
• Hartley remains the team leader in batting average (.351), slugging percentage (.784), runs (38), hits (47), RBIs (39), triples (2), and home runs (15).
• Jordan Gray leads with an on base percentage of .512.
• Troy posted a season-high 12 RBIs in its 12-2 win over the Warhawks.
QUOTABLE
"I was really proud of the overall offense," head coach Beth Mullins said. "I thought the quality at-bats were off the charts. I give my two assistants Taylor Smartt and Alex Hupp a lot of credit. They came up with a great game plan. I was really proud for Becca Hartley and Jordan Gray, both seniors, taking the most of their opportunities. We didn't use Meg (Willis) yesterday, so we were able to start her today and that was key. She did a great job giving us some innings and then Claire came in and closed the door."
"That was awesome," Becca Hartley said. "We played two great games yesterday, and they just didn't fall for us, but today we told ourselves before the game that we were going to make it happen no matter what it took. I just tried to see and good pitch and put the barrel on it. We knew the pitcher was a good match up for Jordan. She has been looking confident at the plate and I am happy it fell for her."
UP NEXT
The Trojans will host No. 1 Florida State in a Tuesday night doubleheader on April 18. First pitches are set for 4 and 6 p.m. The 2017 Sun Belt women's basketball championship team will be recognized and will throw out the first pitch.
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Softball Falls to Georgia Southern in SBC Finale
BOONE, N.C. – After slipping into a 9-0 hole and waiting for an hour and 49-minute rain delay, Appalachian State University softball dropped game three to Georgia Southern in six innings 11-2 at the Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium in Boone on Saturday afternoon.
App State (12-27, 0-15 SBC) racked up four hits against the Eagles (21-19, 11-7 SBC) in the conference series finale and Katie Mathewson bombed out her eighth home run of her career. Also, Megan Walker was perfect on the day going 2-for-2 slamming out her first triple of the season.
In the circle, Kenzie Longanecker (8-10) grabbed her eighth start of 2017 tossing out six strikeouts to put her season total at 103, which secures the No. 6 spot on the single-season record list. In relief was Annaleise Kennedy who pitched two scoreless frames in 3.1 innings.
Game Three: Georgia Southern 11 , App State 2 (6 innings)
After securing a 4-0 lead at the end of the second, GS exploded out to a 9-0 advantage in the top of the third adding on two runs and accompanied that with a three-run jack.
At the bottom half of the inning, Walker blasted out a triple in the leadoff spot to strike up some momentum, but the rain came pouring down pausing the conference showdown for almost two hours before action resumed.
With Walker on third and Sidney Russell sitting on first after drawing a walk, the Apps were in scoring position, but the next Mountaineer batters couldn’t find the right pitch to bring them home.
After Kennedy had pitched a scoreless frame in the top of the fourth, Mathewson sent a rocket over the left field fence to shrink the Eagles’ lead to 9-1.
In the fifth inning, Kennedy kept the Eagles off the scoreboard for a second time, and Walker started the inning off hot with a single up the middle on the first pitch. Then the North Carolina product advanced to second on a wild pitch and ended up on third after Mackie Chandler induced an error by the shortstop to put two on the corners with no outs. Up next was Russell who stepped up to the plate and knocked in Walker to cut the Eagles’ lead to 9-2.
Then in the sixth, Georgia Southern tacked on two more runs which put away the game, 11-2.
Up Next
The Black and Gold will stay on the Mountain to host NCCU for a midweek doubleheader Wednesday, April 19 at 4 p.m.
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Warhawks Fall on Saturday Afternoon
TROY, Ala. –The ULM softball team was unable to complete the sweep of Troy on Saturday, as the hosts used a pair of big innings on Saturday and grab a 12-2 victory to prevent the Warhawks from their second consecutive Sun Belt Conference series sweep.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Troy 12, ULM 2
Location: Troy, Alabama
Teams: ULM (28-16, 10-8 SBC)
Troy (17-27, 5-14 SBC)
TURNING POINT
-ULM was held to just three hits and left nine runners on base in the loss, while Troy used two big innings – a five-run second and a seven-run fourth – to salvage the win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-ULM jumped on the board with a Melanie Coyne RBI single in the first inning, only to see Troy post the five runs in the second inning, highlighted by a grand slam. The Warhawks pushed across another run in the top of the fourth when Jayden Mount drew a bases loaded walk, but Troy again responded, this time with seven runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, keyed by a second grand slam.
-Sydney McKay, Hunter Hogan and Coyne had the three ULM hits in the loss, while Mount and Brie Wrobel each walked twice. Samantha Agamaite and Megan Shaw both drew walks as well.
-Coyne was saddled with the loss, allowing five runs on two hits, two hit batters and a walk in the opening two innings.
UP NEXT
-ULM remains on the road for a pair of midweek contests, first traveling to take on Southeastern Louisiana on Monday night before a trip to face Arkansas on Wednesday. The Warhawks return home next weekend to face South Alabama in Sun Belt Conference action.