TXST SOFTBALL
COLTON MCWILLIAMS SPORTS EDITOR
After starting the Arizona State/Grand Canyon Tournament off with a dominating 12-2 win over the Arizona State Sun Devils, Texas State followed up their win by sweeping the tournament with wins over Ohio State, Seton Hall, Utah Valley, Idaho State and Grand Canyon.
The Bobcats improve their record to 14-4 overall and are currently on a seven-game winning streak.
Following their win over Arizona State, Texas State took on Seton Hall in a rematch of the Austin Regional in the 2023 NCAA Softball Tournament.
The Bobcats pounced on the Pirates with outfielder Ciara Trahan hitting a RBI triple followed up by third baseman Sara Vanderford hitting a RBI double to take the early 2-0 lead.
First baseman J.J. Smith added to the lead in the fourth inning with a tworun home run to extend the lead 4-0.
Despite Seton Hall scoring three runs in the fifth inning, Vanderford added one more RBI to her total with a one-run double.
The double was enough for the Bobcats to take a 5-4 win over the Pirates.
Texas State turned around to take on Ohio State in the next game.
Smith struck again for Texas State hitting a RBI single in the second inning to put the Bobcats up 1-0.
After Ohio State tied the game in the third inning, the Bobcats took back the lead in the fourth with a Smith sacrifice fly as Texas State went up 2-1.
A Buckeye throwing error added to more two for the Bobcats in the fourth inning as Texas State was in control 4-1.
The Bobcats tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning as Texas State defeated Ohio State 6-1.
On Saturday, Texas State squared off with the Utah Valley Wolverines.
The Bobcats jumped out in front of the Wolverines with a RBI single by designated player Karmyn Bass.
Outfielder Piper Randolph tacked on another two runs in the same inning with a 2-run RBI double to push the lead to 3-0.
The Bobcats scored on their final run of the game in the second on a Utah Valley error to make it a 4-0 game.
Despite the Wolverines scoring three unanswered runs, it was not enough as Texas State won 4-3.
Following their win, the Bobcats faced their second opponent of the day in the Idaho State Bengals.
In almost an exact reaction of their game against Utah Valley, Bass scored the first run of the game with a RBI single followed by a RBI double by Piper Randolph as the Bobcats once again took a 3-0 lead in the first inning.
Idaho State made it a two-run game after scoring on the wild pitch but were unable to do more than.
Catcher Megan Kelnar scored the final run for Texas State with a RBI single in the seventh inning as the Bobcats took down the Bengals 4-1.
In the final game of the tournament for Texas State, the Bobcats battle the hosts in the Grand Canyon Antelopes.
After three scoreless innings, the Bobcats struck the first blow as Trahan hit a RBI double while scoring on a Grand Canyon error to give the Bobcats a 2-0 lead.
Texas State added two more runs in the fourth with a sac fly by Randolph and a steal of home by Bass.
Vanderford capped off the game with a two-run home run in the fifth inning as the Bobcats cruised to a 6-0 win to complete the sweep of the tournament Finishing the tournament with a batting average of .400 on eight hits, four RBIs and two home runs, Vanderford won Sun Belt Player of the Week while pitcher Jessica Mullins took home Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week.
Mullins threw 20.1 innings in the tournament while allowing just one earned run and striking out 29 batters.
Texas State returns home to Bobcat Softball Stadium tonight in a showdown with the No. 2 ranked Texas Longhorns.
cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
