Texas State softball (33-22-1, 13-9-1 Sun Belt Conference) will face the Troy Trojans (33-18-1, 14-9-1 Sun Belt Conference) this Thursday in their first game of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
Moving into this matchup, Texas State comes off of back-to-back series victories that allowed them to end the season with a conference winning percentage nearing .700.
Heavy hitters among the Bobcats’ lineup include senior infielder Sara Vanderford, who has raked in 37 RBIs with 22 extra-base hits for the Bobcats this season. Junior utility Hannah Earls has also threatened all season long. While charting a .326 batting average in the regular season and stealing 19 bases, Earls topped the column for Bobcats hitting with 56 hits.
On the mound for the Bobcats, junior pitcher Jessica Mullins got in her groove late in the regular season. Throwing two full-game shutouts in her last three performances, Mullins accumulated 12 strikeouts in some of her most decisive Sun Belt faceoffs of the season.
Each of these teams charted one draw this season against each other in a conference series in mid-March. This was the only game that ended with a tie in the entire Sun Belt Conference this season. While Troy took the series win at home, Texas State showed offensive ability by knocking three out of the park, tying their home run high of the season.
Troy’s batting lineup showed efficiency this year as well. Based on batting average, each of The Trojans’ top four batters combined for 36 home runs this season. While that trumps the Bobcats’ collective 20, Texas State has held its opponents to hit only 30 homers this season.
With Troy’s home run-hitting ability and Texas State’s defensive prowess, this matchup should make for a close and hard-fought game.
The first pitch between Texas State and Troy is scheduled to be thrown at 4 p.m. on May 11 at Lamson Park in Lafayette, Louisiana.