After a senior weekend that led to her being named Sun Belt Conference player of the week, senior catcher Caitlyn Rogers picked up right where she left off in a commanding 11-2 Texas State (33-17, 17-8 Sun Belt) victory over the University of Texas at Arlington (22-23, 12-13 Sun Belt).
Rogers got off to a slow start by striking out in her first at-bat but quickly turned things around. With a 1-0 advantage in the top of the third, a pair of singles and a walk led freshman outfielder Ciara Trahan to third base where a Rogers fly-out to left field brought her all the way home. Then came the big fifth inning.
Rogers began the top of the fifth with a walk and was able to get to third after another walk and a sacrifice at-bat from junior pitcher Tori McCann. A double to centerfield from sophomore infielder Claire Ginder brought Rogers home, with senior catcher Cat Crenek following right behind. Ginder was able to score a run of her own in the very next at-bat resulting in a pitching change from UTA, but that really wouldn’t change a thing. 
Texas State was able to score two more runs before Rogers’ next fifth-inning at-bat. Holding an already insurmountable 8-1 lead, Rogers homered toward right-center-field to bring in two runners on base and extend the lead to 11-1. 
UTA only mustered up one more run in their comeback attempt before sophomore pitcher Jessica Mullins was brought back in to close the game. 
The Mavericks will look to put up more of a fight in game two of their three-game series. The first pitch for that matchup is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Allan Saxe Field in Arlington.