#23 Texas State softball (32-8, 9-2 Sun Belt Conference) won game two of its weekend series in convincing fashion against Troy University (26-15, 6-5 Sun Belt Conference) 8-0 Saturday afternoon at Bobcat Softball Stadium.
A complete performance from offense and defense positioned the Bobcats to secure a commanding 8-0 victory in just six innings over the Trojans, run-ruling them for the second time in two days.
In the first inning, Texas State senior pitcher Jessica Mullins set the tone for the game by pitching a zero. Mullins pitched a complete game and notched her 20th win. She finished with five strikeouts and no runs given up, allowing the Bobcat offense to settle in and hang for runs on the Trojans in the first inning.
“That’s the key,” Texas State Head Coach Ricci Woodard said. “You put four up, and you’ve got Mullins on the mound; you kind of get a feeling of relief a little bit.”
Mullins rolled through her Saturday start, and senior utility J.J. Smith stayed hot at the plate. After homering in game one of the series, Smith added another in her first plate appearance Saturday. Smith hit a three-run home run in the first inning to kickstart the scoring attack.
“I’m just seeing the ball well over the plate and damaging the ones they’re making mistakes on,” Smith said.
In Smith’s final at-bat, she drove in the game-ending run on an RBI double. She finished the afternoon 2-3 with one run and four RBIs.
The Trojan offense never got started on Saturday. Through six innings, they only reached base four times on three hits while stranding three on the day. Freshman starting pitcher Alyssa Faircloth lasted only 2.2 innings in the circle, allowing nine hits and five runs.
The Bobcats will attempt to sweep the Trojans in the final game of the series on Sunday.
The first pitch of game three between Texas State and Troy is set for 11 a.m. Sunday, April 7. at Bobcat Softball Stadium. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
