MOBILE, Ala. – Sophomore Karsen Pierce hadn’t pitched to a single batter throughout the Sun Belt Conference Softball Championships, but she came through when Texas State needed her most.
Pierce checked Coastal Carolina on five hits and struck out six in Saturday’s final elimination game of the tournament, and teammate Sara Vanderford provided all the offensive support she needed as the Bobcats advanced to the championship game for the fourth time in seven years with a 3-1 win over the Chanticleers.
Until Saturday, Texas State ace Jessica Mullins had pitched every inning for the Bobcats, but Pierce was up to the task. Other than Abby Jankay’s solo homer in the second inning that gave Coastal an early 1-0 lead, the sophomore righthander did not allow a runner past first base in a 97-pitch effort.
Meanwhile, Vanderford continued her hot hitting with her fifth and sixth hits of the tournament. Her RBI double in the third inning gave the Bobcats a 2-1 lead, and the third baseman added an RBI single in the fifth to provide an insurance run.
Third-seeded Texas State (38-18) advanced to Saturday’s championship game against top-seeded Louisiana, that game scheduled for 2:30 p.m. The teams met in the winners’ bracket finals, with Louisiana taking a 1-0 eight-inning victory.
The ninth-seeded Chanticleers (25-29), the lowest seed ever to play on the tournament’s final day, had five hits including two at the top of the lineup from Makiya Thomas but could never mount a major threat.
“We just met up with a really good team in Texas State,” said Coastal coach Kelley Green. “I’ve been proud of my team all year. If you would have seen us in February and the amount of development this team has done, and for the girls to get us to where we were now, it doesn’t surprise me that we’re here playing on Saturday because of the amount of improvement we’ve had over the course of the year.”
The Chanticleers got their only run off Pierce (8-4) in the second inning when Jankay launched a 2-2 pitch over the left field wall for her third home run of the tournament, the most of any tournament player.
“She can hit the long ball for sure,” Green said. “That put us on top, I thought we were in good shape there. But they (Texas State) has a tough lineup to get through, they can hurt you in a lot of different ways.”
The Bobcats pushed across two runs off Coastal pitcher Kaitlin Beasley-Polko (15-11) in the third inning when Kylie George reached on a fielding error and stole second, and with two outs Ciara Trahan singled to left to tie the game. Vanderford followed with her RBI double to give Texas State the lead for good.
That lead stretched to 3-1 when Hannah Earls drew a one-out walk and stole second, and one out later Vanderford singled to left to score Earls.
Pierce faced only two over the minimum number over the final five innings in picking up her ninth win of the year.
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