May 17, 2009
Box Score
WACO, Texas - The Texas State softball team ended its season at the NCAA Regionals this afternoon. The Bobcats fell to Lousiana-Lafeyette 5-0, in their third game of the Waco Regional. Texas State ends its season with a 40-18 record; the third best record by a Texas State softball team. The 2009 team won the Southland Conference Regular Season title and Tournament title for the first time in the same year since 2001.
"It's a special group of young ladies and it's hard to finish this way. Last night I thought we let a key opportunity slip away from us. If we would have come out with that win we would have put ourselves in a great position today and unfortunately we didn't do that," said head coach Ricci Woodard. "It has been too many years since we have been here; I didn't have a single player on my team that had been to regionals so I think for what we came in and were able to do we did a really good job. "
The Bobcats were held to just one hit the entire game; for the first time all tourney long. In the top of the fifth, sophomore Jenna Emery lined one right off the third baseman's glove to give Texas State their only hit of the game.
Louisiana Lafeyette was able to record six hits on the day. Their first score came when Vallie Gaspard beat the play out at first, with bases loaded to score Gabriele Bridges at the plate to take the 1-0 edge.
In the bottom of the fourth the Ragin' Cajuns Melissa Verde hit an RBI single to right center to drive in both Gaspard and Karli Hubbard. Three batters later, Lana Bowers stepped to the plate with a runner on second, lining one over the left field wall for a two-run homer.
Texas State beat Northwestern 8-0 (5) in its first game of the NCAA Championships to advance into the winner's bracket. Game two had a different outcome as the Bobcats fell 7-4 to Baylor; needing three more wins to win the region. Falling to the Ragin' Cajuns this afternoon dropped the Bobcats out of the race for the Waco Region championship, ending their ride in the NCAA's.
"We are losing seven great young ladies (seniors). They are definitely going to be hard to replace," said Woodard.
Texas State will say goodbye to seven seniors, while welcoming seven new Bobcats to next year's team.
Pitcher Chandler Hall pitched 19 innings in the NCAA Championships, ending her freshman campaign with a 1.17 ERA and the fifth-best ERA by a Bobcat pitcher in a single season.
