Texas State softball began its 2026 campaign on the right foot, getting out to a 1-0 start after defeating Toledo 8-2 at Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium in Thursday’s season opener.
Senior outfielder Keely Williams and junior third baseman Kate Bubela each homered as the Bobcats drove in eight runs on nine hits across the seven innings of play.
Junior pitcher Maddy Azua kicked off the season in the circle for the Bobcats, tossing 4.0 innings, giving up two earned runs and striking out one in her season debut.
Toledo managed to strike first off of Azua in the first inning of the game, taking an early 1-0 lead after the top half of the first. Texas State answered back quickly, however. After Toledo pitched walked three straight, sophomore catcher Karmyn Bass scored on a fielder’s choice to tie the game.
An RBI single off the bat of Bubela tallied another run for the Bobcats and an RBI double off the bat of senior catcher Megan Kelnar padded the Cats’ lead to 3-1 at the end of the first.
After Toledo got a run back in the third, Bubela belted the Bobcats’ first long ball of the season, making it a 4-2 ball game.
Azua’s day finished after the fourth inning, and senior Emma Strood took over in the circle in the fifth. Strood tossed the fifth and sixth innings, allowing no runs.
In the fifth, Coleman doubled, driving in the Bobcats’ fifth run of the game. Texas State put the game on ice in the sixth, as Williams parked a two-run homer over the outfield fence and sophomore Emily Fish tagged an RBI double to balloon the Bobcats’ lead to 8-2.
Freshman Kaili Witherell made her collegiate debut in the seventh, tossing the game’s final inning in the circle, holding the Rockets scoreless.
Texas State will continue the Kajikawa Classic on Friday with games against Northwestern and Arizona State.
The Bobcats’ first game of the day is set for 1:45 p.m. against Northwestern, followed by a matchup with the tournament, Arizona State at 7:15 pm. The Arizona State game will be streaming on ESPN+.
