Texas State softball (24-7, 3-1 Sun Belt Conference) defeated Appalachian State University (15-11, 3-1 Sun Belt Conference) 6-0 Friday evening at Bobcat Softball Stadium to kick off alumni weekend.
The Bobcats accomplished this conference win thanks to their open and shut defensive performance and their bats in the second half of the game.
The game began slowly for both teams, with only two hits until the bottom of the fourth inning. Both of those hits came from Appalachian State senior right fielder Katy Houston, which were the only Mountaineers hits of the game.
Texas State Head Coach Ricci Woodard said the low energy contributed to the slow offensive of the game, coming off a huge win against Texas A&M Wednesday night.
“Coming off a big win like Wednesday night, I knew this win was going to be hard,” Woodard said. “You have to try to generate your own energy.”
This low energy from Texas State was not for long, however, as a walk-in run in the bottom of the fourth inning, along with six Mountaineers errors, lit a fire in the Bobcat dugout.
The Bobcats returned to the plate with newfound momentumin the fifth inning, as sophomore utility Katarina Zarate batted in two more runs. According to Zarate, she was looking for the perfect pitch.
“I learned from previous at-bats,” Zarate said. “I was going to work early and get something I could drive right up the middle.”
The Bobcat defensive game was blazing from the start. They began with a double play in the top of the first inning, creating their defensive momentum for the innings to come.
The Bobcats held the Mountaineers to only two hits the entire game, with six strikeouts from senior pitcher Jessica Mullins. Woodard said the Bobcats’ errorless game kept them in the running.
“You give yourself the chance to win when you need to make the routine plays, which I thought we did,” Woodard said.
The Bobcats will return to the diamond on Saturday as they look to clinch the series against the Mountaineers and continue to celebrate alumni weekend and Texas State’s 40 years of softball.
The opening pitch in the second game between Texas State and Appalachian State will be thrown at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 23, at Bobcat Softball Stadium. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
