In a battle between two of the best starting pitchers in the Sun Belt Conference, Nicolette Picone had the upper hand as the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (25-6, 2-2 Sun Belt Conference) dominated Texas State softball (19-7, 3-1 SBC) 6-0 to snap the Bobcats’ seven-game winning streak on Friday at St. John Stadium in Conway, South Carolina.

Texas State’s offense did little to nothing against the ace of Coastal Carolina’s staff, as Picone struck out six and gave up just one walk and three hits en route to her 15th victory of the season. She lowered her overall season ERA to 1.64.

Coastal Carolina dominated the game with the long ball, as every run scored in this contest came from a home run. The Chanticleers struck first in the bottom of the third inning with a three-run shot to right from first basemen Georgia Hood.

Three innings later, Hood connected for her second home run of the game to further extend Coastal Carolina’s lead. The ultimate dagger came not long after when designated player McKennah Metzger, who celebrated her birthday during the game, crushed a two-run bomb into centerfield as the exclamation point for the Chanticleer’s first home victory in conference play.

Maddy Azua pitched six innings and was responsible for five earned runs, giving up seven hits while striking out five. Her season ERA bloated to 2.12, and she was credited with the loss, her third of the year.

The Bobcats will look to bounce back Saturday afternoon in game two of the series against Coastal Carolina at 1 p.m. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.