NEW ORLEANS – Texas State softball finished its weekend at the 2023 Bevo Classic with a pair of back-to-back victories against top 10 opponents to earn a spot in the D1 Softball Top 25 at No. 25.
The Bobcats got their first top 10 victory on Saturday, besting No. 9 Alabama, 3-1. After getting a hit off to open the inning against Alabama, Jessica Mullins got on the mound in the bottom of the first and proved to be the difference maker. Mullins threw the first of her eventual eight strikeouts against Alabama’s leadoff batter to start the game off. In the top of the second inning, Sara Vanderford hit a bomb to left field, marking her third home run of the year. After Vanderford's homerun it was back to Mullins on the mound who went three up and three out with one strikeout in the bottom of the second which got the Bobcats back up to bat with a chance to extend their lead.
Hannah Earls would get the second run for the Bobcats after singling through the left side, she would score after a Randolph ground out and an error by Alabama's shortstop. Mullins once again changed the momentum for the Bobcats in the bottom of the fourth when she struck out all three batters for Alabama. From there, Mullins allowed just one more hit in the remainder of the game and had three more strikeouts to close the game. Texas State got its final run of the game in the top of the seventh when Bass singled through the right side. On the throws Bass and Zarate advanced and Randolph would go home to cap off the scoring.
Alabama looked to fight back in the bottom of the seventh, but fell short. Shipman doubled and eventually scored off two fly outs, but that would be the only run of the game for Crimson Tide as Mullins struck out their final batter to clinch the 3-1 win against the No. 9 team in the nation.
The Bobcats' win against Alabama was the team’s first win against a ranked team since beating No. 10 Oregon (5-1) in May in the 2021 NCAA Regionals. Alabama is also the highest ranked team the Bobcats have beaten since No. 8 Louisiana (14-13) on March 28, 2015.
Texas State continued its momentum on Sunday, capping its weekend with a 5-4 upset over No. 10 Texas. In a back-and-forth battle, the game headed to extra innings with both coaches opting not to play with an international tiebreak rule. After eight innings, things remained deadlocked at four apiece. To open the ninth inning, Megan Kelnar flew out to left field and Ciara Trahan grounded out. With two outs, Hannah Earls stepped up to bat. She would earn another walk that would ultimately be the difference maker in this game.
Next up to bat was Piper Randolph, who tripled down the right field line on her first pitch of the at bat. Earls would score on her run and give the Bobcats the advantage. Anna Jones would strike out looking to end the inning and the game was back in the hands of 2022 Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year, Jessica Mullins.
The Longhorns hit a single on the first at bat, but Mullins dug in. The next two batters for Texas would ground out. Mullins would walk the fourth batter up. But the fifth and ultimately final batter for the Longhorns would fly out to center field and the Bobcats would return to San Marcos with their second win against a ranked opponent in two days.
The pair of back-to-back victories against top 10 opponents marked the first in Texas State softball history.