Maddy Azua and Emma Strood had strong performances as Texas State won games two and three of its three-game series with the South Alabama Jaguars last weekend.
Here’s a recap of both games:
Saturday
Texas State Softball (24-11, 7-4 SBC) brought in its 20th win at home of the season with its 5-2 win against the South Alabama Jaguars (15-22, 4-5 SBC) on Saturday at Bobcat SoftballStadium.
The Bobcat offense came alive in the third inning, scoring three runs.
The scoring started with outfielder Keely Williams hitting a single down the middle and bringing in two runs. Then infielder Aiyana Coleman did the same, bringing in Williams.
” I think bouncing back from Marshall and all our previous games and learning from our mistakes and sticking together as a team as a whole helped us to win,” Coleman said.
The Jaguars’ offense started and ended in the fourth inning, where they scored their only two runs of the game.
The Bobcats used three pitchers: Emma Strood, Analisa Soliz and Maddy Azua.
Strood started on the mound, allowing only three hits. She allowed an RBI single and left two runners on when head coach Ricci Woodard brought in Analisa Soliz, who allowed one more run on a fielder’s choice. Azua came in to finish off the game, closing out the fifth inning and retiring seven straight batters to end the game.
“As long as we make those routine plays, we are going to win a lot of ball games,” Woodard said. ” I think Maddy Azua did a good job of coming in some key situations and getting the job done for us.”
The offense for both sides wasn’t too explosive, both only having five hits.
Outfielder Bailee Slack led the Bobcat charts today with two hits, one RBI and one run in four at-bats.
Sunday
The Bobcats (25-11, 8-4 SBC) swept the South Alabama Jaguars 3-0(15-23, 4-6 SBC) after winning 4-0 on Sunday.
Maddy Azua shut out the Jaguars, pitching seven innings with five strikeouts. Azua retired the Jaguars lineup in the first inning. In the second inning, she allowed a lead-off double before she retired eight straight batters through the fourth inning.
“I know that I can do my job and get out there and I know I have my teams back and they have mine.”
The Bobcats’ bats woke up in the fifth inning, starting with catcher Megan Kelnar hitting an RBI single, breaking up the Jaguars’ no-hitter. Then infielder Kate Bubela grounded out to shortstop, bringing in another runner.
In the sixth inning, Coleman singled to right field, bringing in another run and giving the Bobcats a 3-0 lead. Then Kelnar got walked with bases loaded, bringing in the fourth run for the Bobcats.
“We know every weekend right now is going to be a grind,” Woodard said. “You get to this part of the season. It’s going to be who can grind it out the best. I feel like we are still trying to grind it out every day.”
The Bobcats travel to Austin on Wednesday to take on the #1 ranked Texas Longhorns. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
