Texas State softball (37-13, 13-6 Sun Belt Conference) fell to the University of Southern Mississippi (21-24, 9-10 Sun Belt Conference) in game one of its series Friday evening at USM Softball Complex in Hattiesburg, Mississippi by a score of 9-3.
The Golden Eagles accomplished this win with the help of big bats and intelligent base running paired with Bobcat fielding errors.
The Bobcats started off working smart in the first inning. With only one hit, they managed to load the bases but stranded all three runners. The Eagles combatted this energy with a strong first inning, driving in their first two runs unearned due to two Bobcat fielding errors.
This began a back-and-forth battle between the teams, each gaining two runs in the third inning. Southern Miss graduate student catcher Hannah Borden belted a homerun over left-center in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The Golden Eagles continued their rampage and ended this even battle in the bottom of the fifth inning. Southern Miss plated four runs with three following an intentional walk to Borden.
Texas State had a combined pitching effort from senior pitchers Jessica Mullins and Karsen Pierce. Both pitchers battled together to gain seven strikeouts in the same number of innings.
Southern Miss’ pitching efforts were standalone from junior pitcher Holly Craft. Craft whipped five strikeouts across the plate while holding the Bobcats to only four hits.
Texas State will attempt to even the series in game two.
The opening pitch in the second game between Texas State and Southern Miss is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, April 27 at USM Softball Complex in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
