Game 1: TXST 10, Brown 2
Texas State Softball (9-6) began the final day of the River State Classic with a dominant 10-2 victory over the Brown Bears (1-4) in the first game of a doubleheader Sunday morning at Bobcat Softball Stadium.
Junior pitcher Madison Azua started in the circle for the Bobcats, recording five strikeouts while only surrendering two hits in the four innings she pitched.
The first two innings were quiet for both sides as the game remained scoreless, with the two teams combining for five strikeouts and one total hit.
Texas State’s offense began to heat up in the bottom of the third inning, scoring two runs despite recording just one hit. An error by the Bears led to senior outfielder Sydney Harvey scoring the first run of the game, immediately followed by an RBI walk worked by junior Katarina Zarate, bringing the Bobcats’ lead to 2-0.
The Bobcat bats remained hot as senior catcher Karmyn Bass hit an RBI single, along with a second RBI walk from Zarate, bringing the Texas State lead to 4-0 at the end of the fourth inning. Senior outfielder Keely Williams added to the lead with an RBI single at the end of the fifth inning.
Brown did not go quietly at the top of the sixth, as sophomore outfielder Elli Thompson delivered a two-run home run to bring the Bobcat lead down to three.
The bottom of the sixth was a pivotal inning for Texas State as the Bobcats’ hitting went into overdrive. Sophomore infielder Mayson Garrett started the scoring with an RBI double, plating sophomore infielder Emily Fish. Freshman infielder Sophie Sandel followed with a sacrifice fly RBI to make it 7-2.
After Sandel, sophomore outfielder Mel Reeves delivered a huge two-run single to bring the Bobcat lead to 9-2. Bass delivered the final blow with an RBI double, bringing the final score to a 10-2 Bobcats victory. Texas State finished the inning with five runs and four hits, dominating to close out the game and end it via the run-rule.
Game 2: TXST 2, CSU 3
After beating Brown earlier in the day 10-2, the Texas State Bobcats faced off against future Pac-12 rival Colorado State (5-10) once more where they lost 3-2 in 10 innings Sunday afternoon at Bobcat Softball Stadium to conclude the River State Classic.
The Bobcats and the Rams were locked in a pitcher’s duel between Texas State senior Emma Strood and Colorado State senior Giselle Bentley, with neither team scoring a run in the first three innings of play. Azua came in to pitch the remainder of the game in the fourth.
Texas State was not able to crack CSU’s pitching, as they only notched two hits on the day compared to the Ram’s 11.
In the top of the sixth inning, Colorado State broke the deadlock after Bobcats sophomore center fielder Baliee Slack dropped a routine fly ball, allowing Colorado State’s Lindsey Hinson to score on the play from third.
Texas State retaliated in the bottom portion of the inning when Garrett walked with the bases loaded to bring a run in.
Tied at one apiece, the game entered extra innings as both teams traded blows in the 8th, with the Bobcats scoring on a sac-fly from Zarate.
After blanking CSU in the top of the ninth, the Bobcats had a chance to bring home the winning run, but Garrett, who was the leadoff runner at second base, was called out after leaving the base too early on a play.
The Rams got out of the ninth inning unscathed and scored in the top of the 10th to put the pressure back on the Bobcats.
Texas State had two players on first and second base in the bottom of the inning with one out, but Bass lined out to first base, which resulted in an unassisted double play to end the game.
“We talked about it, we got to execute better all the way around,” Texas State head coach Ricci Woodard said. “I thought we competed decently, but I think we’ve got to do a better job next weekend. We can’t get out-hit 11-2 and think we’re [going to] win ball games.”
Texas State will try to get back to winning ways at home against Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 3 p.m. Fans can watch the game online through ESPN+.
