Texas State softball picked up a key conference series win against Southern Miss over the weekend at Bobcat Softball Stadium, taking the first two games before dropping a one-run contest in the weekend finale.
Game 1: USM 1, TXST 7
With the regular season quickly winding down, the Texas State Bobcats carried the momentum from Tuesday’s upset victory against No. 3 Texas Tech into their vital series against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, opening the first of three with a 7-1 victory Friday evening at Bobcat Softball Stadium.
Junior pitcher Maddy Azua pitched six innings of one-run ball, earning her 21st win of the season while striking out four Golden Eagles on three hits.
Texas State got the scoring party started early thanks to back-to-back home runs from senior first basemen Aiyana Coleman and redshirt junior second basemen Kat Zarate in the second inning.
“These pitchers tonight stayed on the outside half,” Zarate said. “For me, it was just about getting the barrel there… keeping it simple.”
Texas State got two runners in scoring position with only one out in the bottom of the third; the Bobcats weren’t able to add to their advantage. That wasn’t the case in the fourth, as junior Kate Bubela broke the game open with a three-run bomb to center field.
Azua, who came off an outstanding midweek pitching performance against the Red Raiders, pitched four scoreless frames before giving up her first run of the evening in the fifth inning.
Zarate got on the scoresheet again in the sixth inning with her second home run of the ball game, the first time in her career, as the Bobcats hit a total of four home runs.
Texas State sent out freshman pitcher Chesney Davis to finish the job in the seventh inning, but after walking two batters, Bobcats head coach Ricci Woodard decided to bring back Azua to complete the game. She was able to close the door on the Golden Eagles and give Texas State its 30th win of the season.
“Consistency, that’s the key to us,” Woodard said. “We’re pretty consistent right now with what we’re doing, and we’ve got to finish with this same group.”
Game 2: USM 1, TXST 8
The Bobcats extended their win streak to eight as they defeated the Golden Eagles 8-1 in game two on Saturday afternoon.
Senior Aiyanna Coleman scored three runs with her fourteenth home run of the season. Her first walk of the game broke the program record for walks in a single season, and her second was an intentional walk with bases loaded that scored a run.
Senior pitcher Emma Strood tossed the complete game, only allowing three hits and giving up two walks. One was a solo home run that was Southern Miss’s only run of the evening.
“I kind of feel like something has clicked,” Strood said. “We’re all clicking at the right time, we’re all getting hot at the right time, so I’m really happy with that.”
The Golden Eagles took the early lead with a lead-off solo shot from sophomore outfielder Hannah Christian, but they were unable to score again after that.
The ‘Cats went scoreless for the first two innings but scored every inning for the remainder of the game.
Texas State started the third inning with a single from junior infielder Kate Bubela. She advanced on error and was able to score on a ground out from senior infielder Sami Hood to tie it up at 1-1.
A four-run fourth inning put the Bobcats ahead at 5-1. Senior outfielder Sydney Harvey was walked, and redshirt freshman outfielder Harley Vestal was hit by a pitch, putting two runners on for Colema,n who hit a three-run home run. Hood picked up another RBI before the inning ended with a single.
In the fifth, Coleman was walked for the 48th time of the season as the Bobcats loaded the bases. Bubela scored one run as she drew a walk.
Senior outfielder Keely Williams started the sixth with a home run of her own to make the Bobcats lead 7-1. A couple of walks and a single loaded the bases for the Bobcats once again and brought Coleman to the plate. Southern Miss chose to intentionally walk her yet again, giving Texas State another run.
Strood hit a batter in the top of the seventh, but the defense handled it and ended the game with a double play, cementing a series win.
Game 3, USM 2, TXST 1
Texas State was unable to secure the series sweep as they lost 2-1 to Southern Miss in Sunday’s series finale at Bobcat Softball Stadium.
Junior pitcher Maddy Azua pitched a complete game, only allowing two runs on five hits while tallying five strikeouts.
Sophomore pitcher Kayla Giardina started in the circle for the Golden Eagles and ultimately got the win, limiting Texas State to four hits and striking out one in five innings.
Both teams went three up three down in the first, but Southern Miss put themselves on the board in the second with a two-run home run from sophomore Abbi Troquille.
The Bobcats were unable to respond until the fifth inning when senior infielder Sami Hood homered to cut the score in half.
Despite solid contact and runners on base in the sixth and seventh innings, Texas State was not able to produce any more runs.
“I thought we squared up a lot of balls that went right at people,” Head coach Ricci Woodard said. “We didn’t get the key hit.”
After Sunday’s loss, Texas State softball is tied at third in the Sun Belt Conference.
The Bobcats are set to take on the Baylor Bears at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
