El Paso, Texas – Texas State captured a pair of victories today over Bradley and New Mexico State today at the UTEP Invitational to move to 2-2 in the tournament. The Bobcats improve to 6-9 overall with one game left in the tournament.
Texas State 5, Bradley 0 Box Score
Texas State softball snapped its four game losing streak with a 5-0 one-hit shutout of Bradley University. Starting pitcher Anne Marie Taylor earned her second shutout of the season to improve her record to 2-2. The Bobcats improve to 5-9 while Bradley falls to 3-9.
The Bobcats went to work at the plate while Taylor controlled the game in the circle. In the third inning, Texas State had three hits and Coralee Ramirez singled down the left field line to bring in Brooke Baker from second.
A one run lead was not enough for the Bobcat bats, as the fifth inning proved to be an explosive one. Ramirez earned her second RBI of the game after singling to left and driving in Anna Hernandez. Haley Lemons gave the Bobcats another run with a sacrifice fly to centerfield, giving Baker her second run of the game. With Ramirez on third base, McKenzie Baack stepped up to the plate and hit her first homerun of the season to give Texas State a five run lead. The homerun was Baack's 15th of her career, tying her for eighth all-time in Texas State history.
Taylor closed the final inning with one more strikeout, giving her eight on the day with only two walks. Bradley pitcher Lindsay Hufeld was saddled with the loss.
Texas State 6, New Mexico State 5 Box Score
Texas State had to battle back from an early 3-0 deficit to win their second straight game at the UTEP Invitational. The 6-5 victory gave Chandler Hall her third win of the season and improved the Bobcats record to 6-9 overall. New Mexico State pitcher Alex Villalobos was saddled with the loss while the Aggies fell to 13-3.
The first inning began with New Mexico State taking a quick lead as Kylie Randall stole home. With one runner on base, Hoku Nohara hit a two-run homerun to give the Aggies a 3-0 lead.
After a quiet two innings, Texas State rallied back in the bottom of the third. Macie Hair started the inning with a double to centerfield. With two outs remaining, Haley Lemons singled up the middle to bring in Hair. After a McKenzie Baack walk, Jenna Emery singled to load the bases. Chandler Hall then stepped up to the plate to help her own cause and hit a single to short, scoring Lemons and Baack. The Aggies were forced to make a pitching change to switch out Villalobos, and soon after Emery stole home to give the Bobcats a 4-3 lead.
Hall settled in after the third, and the Bobcats picked up where they left off in the fourth. Brooke Baker came in to score after Coralee Ramirez singled down the leftfield line and advanced to second on the throw. Ramirez scored after Lemons hit another RBI single.
The Bobcats proved they can hold on to a lead as the Aggies attempted to come back in the final inning. Kandis Jones hit a two-run double to bring the score to 6-5. The comeback was short-lived, however, as Hall worked to earn a strikeout and a foul out to left to end the game with two runners left on base.
The Bobcats will face North Dakota State Sunday at 9:00 in their final game of the UTEP Invitational before traveling to Arlington to face UTA on Tuesday.
