Texas State softball (6-2) lost to the University of Tulsa (4-2) by a score of 5-2 Friday afternoon at Bobcat Softball Stadium despite efforts from three pitchers throughout the ballgame. Starting with a handful of errors, Texas State couldn’t catch up to Tulsa’s aggressive baserunning.
Senior pitcher Karsen Pierce started on the mound for the Bobcats, but Tulsa only needed one inning to adjust to her pitching. Pierce gave up three runs on four hits while giving up one walk.
In the bottom of the second inning, the Bobcats responded as senior utility J.J. Smith hit a lob to right field. Sophomore catcher Megan Kelnar and utility Sydney Harvey roped her in with sequential base hits down the third base line to bring in Texas State’s only two runs of the game.
Sophomore pitcher Analisa Soliz and senior pitcher Jessica Mullins finished out the game for Texas State, each allowing one run. Soliz struck out one in three innings, and Mullins struck out two in two innings.
Senior utility Anna Jones doubled off Tulsa’s junior pitcher Maura Moore to keep the Bobcats alive, but no comeback was mounted in the end.
Tulsa’s base running skills came in handy in the seventh inning as they stole home to top their score off, making it 5-2.
Head Coach Ricci Woodard wasn’t too happy about the game one loss.
“I didn’t think we did anything real well the first game,” Woodard said. “We didn’t pitch great [and] we didn’t play defense great. They outplayed us. It’s pretty simple.”
Game two was a different story for the Bobcats. An all-star performance from freshman Madison Azua and an offensive onslaught helped propel Texas State to an 8-0 mercy-rule victory over Northern Colorado (1-5).
Azua pitched all five innings of the game, allowing no runs and striking out four on one hit and no walks. The Bobcats’ newcomer bounced back after her previous outing didn’t go as planned.
“One little thing isn’t going to kill me,” Azua said. “Remembering that I am a good pitcher and I’m here for a reason gets me through it.”
The Bobcat offense gave Azua some breathing room, as their performance ended the game in only five innings.
Jones kicked off the scoring for the Bobcats with an RBI single in the first.
The scoring continued in the third inning, with graduate student infielder Sara Vanderford and Jones collecting RBI hits after scoring on an error.
In the fifth and final inning, Vanderford collected another RBI on a single, and sophomore catcher Karmyn Bass drove in two more with a double. The kiss of death for Northern Colorado occurred when freshman utility Peyton Young collected her first career NCAA RBI fielder’s choice, putting the Bobcats up 8-0 to seal the mercy-rule victory.
The Bobcats return to action on Saturday with a double-header against Texas Tech and Tulsa on Saturday.
The first pitch between Texas State and Tulsa is scheduled to be thrown at 12:15 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, at Bobcat Softball Stadium. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
