In the home half of the sixth, Erin Peterson strode to the plate with bases loaded and the Bobcats down a run. Peterson worked herself to a 1-0 count, and then like a scene out of a movie, the freshman took a middle-middle fastball and hit a towering fly ball that cleared the centerfield wall, giving Texas State the lead with a go-ahead grand slam and her first collegiate home run.
“I knew I had to hit something hard,” Peterson said. “It happened to get out and that’s pretty exciting, but I knew I just had to hit it hard and get a few runs.”
Peterson’s slam, along with home runs off the bats of Aiyana Coleman and Kate Bubela, helped propel Texas State (30-13) to an 11-6 victory over Troy (27-21) Thursday night at Bobcat Softball Stadium.
Troy jumped out to an early lead in the first inning when the Trojans right fielder Annie Orman hit a two-run home run out to center field. Troy added to their lead in the third, adding one on a solo shot, this time off the bat of Taylor Mckinney, to run the lead to 3-0.
Texas State managed to crack the scoreboard and scratch a run in the home half of the fourth courtesy of an RBI single from Coleman. Troy responded in the fifth with a two run double off the bat of Orman again to increase their lead to 5-1.
Bubela answered Troy’s two runs in the top of the fifth with two of her own in the home half. A two-run shot cut the lead to 5-3 and got the Bobcats right back into the game. A much-needed zero for the Bobcats in the top of the sixth from Maddy Azua kept the momentum with Texas State heading to the bottom half.
Two base hits off the bats of Karmyn Bass and Ciara Trahan, followed by a Megan Kelnar sacrifice bunt, put two in scoring position with one out. A Sydney Harvey RBI single cut the lead down to 5-4. Bubela singled to load the bases, setting the stage for Peterson.
After taking the first pitch, Peterson put Texas State in front for good with a grand slam and her first career home run.
“Erin Peterson is going to be one of the best ball players to ever leave here when she gets done playing,” Texas State head coach Ricci Woodard said. “She’s going to be fun to watch, I think [tonight] is the start of something great for her.
Coleman capped off the Bobcats monster inning a few batters later with a three-run shot that almost cleared the train tracks behind the left field wall, giving Texas State the 11-5 advantage. Troy scored one in the top of the seventh on a solo home run, but no more as Azua finished off the complete game.
“We spent a lot of time working on our offensive game,” Woodard said. “The first couple innings of the game, I thought, ‘Oh, this isn’t going to work for us.’ But they did a good job of just sticking to the process, sticking to the plan, and came up with a lot of big hits for us tonight.”
Texas State will go for a series win in game two against the Trojans. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. on Friday at Bobcat softball stadium.
