No. 2 Texas State shuts out No. 5 UTA to advance to championship game
Troy, Ala. – The No. 2 seed Texas State advanced to a second consecutive championship game of the Sun Belt Softball Championship with a 1-0 victory vs. No. 5 seed UTA on Friday at the Troy Softball Complex.
Texas State (41-14) will take on No. 1 seed Louisiana for the Sun Belt title on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT. UTA (32-26), which played the most games of any team in this year’s tournament (five) is eliminated.
A pitcher’s duel went in favor of Texas State and starter Randi Rupp. Rupp (27-9) tossed a complete game shutout and scattered six hits with four strikeouts. UTA pitcher Sam Clakley (26-14) was nearly as sharp as the 2017 Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year as she tossed seven and allowed just two hits and the one earned run.
Christiana McDowell singled up the middle in the top of the third to score Kennedy Cline and provide the only scoring of the contest.
Whitney Walton and Shelbi Sikes each went 2-for-3 with a double in the contest. The Bobcats left four runners on base while the Mavs stranded five.
Texas State 1, UTA 0 (May 12, 2017 at Troy, Ala.)
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Texas State......... 001 000 0 - 1 2 0 (41-14)
UTA................. 000 000 0 - 0 6 0 (32-26)
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Pitchers: Texas State - Rupp, Randi and Davis, Haleigh. UTA - Sam Clakley and Kacey Everett.
Win-Rupp, Randi(27-9) Loss-Sam Clakley(26-14) T-1:27 A-402
Weather: Cloudy