A 12-inning, 214-pitch outing from senior pitcher Libby Baker led Troy University (27-15, 7-5 Sun Belt Conference) to a 4-3 victory over #23 Texas State (32-9, 9-3 Sun Belt Conference) in a nearly four-hour game Sunday at Bobcat Softball Stadium.
Despite the loss, the Bobcats won the series two games to one.
Baker allowed three runs on 11 hits, seven walks and one strikeout in 12 innings of work.
“Hats off to [Troy],” Texas State Head Coach Ricci Woodard said. “Libby Baker threw over 200 pitches and found a way to beat us.”
Texas State struggled when it mattered, stranding 15 runners on base.
Troy senior shortstop Audra Thompson put the offense on her back, driving in two on a double in the seventh to give the Trojans the lead and hitting a solo home run in the 12th inning to give them the lead once again.
Despite the loss, Texas State pitching impressed as senior pitcher Jessica Mullins allowed zero earned runs with eight strikeouts in 6 ⅔ innings, and freshman pitcher Maddison Azua allowed one run in 5 ⅓ in relief.
Troy struck first after freshman second baseman Jillian Williams hit a sac fly in the second.
Texas State senior first baseman J.J. Smith responded with a solo home run in the fourth to tie the game 1-1, followed by an RBI single from senior center fielder Piper Randolph, giving the Bobcats a 2-1 lead. Smith’s solo shot marked her third straight game with a home run.
Texas State was one out away from victory before Thompson’s double in the seventh led to two runs due to an error from graduate student third baseman Sara Vanderford, putting Troy up 3-2.
“We [didn’t] handle making one big mistake, and we ended up making two big mistakes, which cost us a couple of runs,” Woodard said. We have to play the game one pitch at a time and be able to move to the next pitch.”
Randolph struck again, tying the game on an RBI double in the seventh inning before Thompson hit the go-ahead shot in the 12th.
Texas State will look to get back on track on Wednesday in a highly anticipated matchup against #5 University of Texas (31-6, 11-4 Big 12 Conference).
The opening pitch between Texas State and Texas is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, at Red & Charline McCombs Field in Austin, Texas. The game will be available to stream on the Longhorn Network.
