The Texas State softball team finished strong at the Madeira Beach Classic, earning a 4-3 victory over Wichita State and a 9-2 victory over Ivy League opponent Harvard Sunday afternoon. The Bobcats finished the weekend with a 4-2 record as they improve to 9-7 overall.
Freshman pitcher
Randi Rupp struck out 10 batters while walking just one as she earned her sixth victory of the season in game one of the day.
Wichita State got on the board first in the second inning. Texas State answered with three runs in the top of the third as
Kendall Wiley hit her sixth home run of the weekend, scoring
Danielle Warne and
Courtney Harris.
After Wichita State added one in the bottom half of the third, Texas State answered once again with a solo shot by
Kimberlin Naivar for her first home run of the season, giving Texas State a 4-2 lead.
The Shockers then scored one more in the bottom of the sixth to cut the Bobcat lead in half, but a pair of strikeouts in the seventh by Rupp sealed the first victory of the day for Texas State.
The Bobcats got out of the gates quickly in game two, scoring six runs on five hits in the first inning. With one out and
Ariel Ortiz standing on first after a walk, Harris sparked a run of three straight singles to put Texas State on the board. In addition to Harris,
Kortney Koroll, Wiley, Naivar, and Ortiz all recorded singles in the inning.
Texas State then went four scoreless innings before adding on to its lead in the top of the sixth. Harris and Koroll led off the inning with a pair of walks before
Kendall Wiley would load the bases with a single to centerfield. A ground out by
Lexi Fryar scored the first run of the inning and a single to centerfield by
Taylor Webb would score
Alli Akina for the second run of the inning.
One more insurance run would be added in the top of the seventh for the Bobcats after Koroll singled up the middle to score Ortiz.
Webb earned the victory against Harvard, improving to 2-2 on the year. She gave up just one hit in four and a third innings pitched.
Three Bobcats hit over .400 for the weekend (Koroll, Wiley, and Harris) and the Bobcats hit a total of 14 home runs. Wiley led the way offensively after recording a team-high 10 hits, six of which left the yard.
Rupp finished the weekend with a 1.27 ERA with 35 strikeouts and just six walks.
Texas State will now prepare for the Wilson/DeMarini Classic hosted by Auburn on February 26-28. The Bobcats will open the tournament with a single game Thursday evening against Auburn at 6 p.m. Other opponents for the Bobcats include Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Samford, and two contests against Connecticut. For more information, check in with
www.txstatebobcats.com.