Texas Shootout Tournament Page
Game Notes

SAN MARCOS, Texas – After picking up an 8-0 victory over I-35 rival UTSA on Wednesday evening, the Texas State softball team travels to Denton, Texas on Thursday for the Texas Shootout hosted by North Texas. The Bobcats will play five games in the tournament; starting with a contest tonight against North Texas at 5 p.m.
 
A Look At The Competition
North Texas
North Texas softball, following a 5-0 performance in the Denton-based Lovelace Invitational, is now 7-3, the program's best start in its 11-year history. Senior Brooke Foster and junior Dani Hoff may have the hottest bats on the team right now. Foster is batting .441 (.735 slg%) with 15 hits on the year already and two homers. Hoff is batting .414 with a team-high six doubles, nine RBI and a home run.
 
Thirty-seven percent of North Texas' runs have come in the first two innings this season and North Texas has not lost when it has held its opponent to three runs or less.
 
Sam Houston State
Sam Houston State has begun the 2014 regular season with a 1-5 overall record, picking up a 7-2 victory against Stephen F. Austin at the Houston Tournament on February 14.
 
Offensively, the Bearkats are led by Tayler Gray, who in 19 at bats leads the team in batting average with a mark of .421 and hits with eight. She also owns a .789 slugging percentage and a team-high 15 total bases.
 
Abilene Christian
Abilene Christian's softball team will face its first NCAA D-I opponents since 1998 beginning Thursday night at the 2014 Texas Shootout hosted by North Texas. ACU has faced seven schools since 1997 that currently have D-I softball programs, but the Wildcats haven't played a true D-I opponent since 1998 when they met both Harvard and Texas Tech. Both UC Davis and Cal State Bakersfield were DII schools when they last played the Wildcats in 2002 and 1998, respectively, as was Nebraska Omaha in 2011, and Grand Canyon and Incarnate Word in 2013.
 
Carrying the Wildcats' offense, meanwhile, is senior Lyndi Smith, who ranks ninth in the Southland with a .739 slugging percentage as she has counted two doubles and two home runs among her nine hits.
 
The Wildcats have a 2-5 record to start the young season.
 
Prairie View A&M
Due to the inclement weather this spring season, the Prairie View A&M Panthers will begin its 2014 campaign at the Texas Shootout after having its home opener postponed.
  
About Texas State
Texas State notched another victory in the I-35 Rivalry with an 8-0 run-ruled win over UTSA in the fifth inning Wednesday night to improve to 8-3. The Bobcats scored seven of the team's runs in the fifth inning on five walks, three singles and a hit by pitch.
 
In the bottom of the third, Texas State's offense started to pop. The heart of the team's lineup made a move with Wiley and Courtney Harris each earning a walk to set up Koroll for the go-ahead RBI. Koroll obliged with a shot up the middle just out of the shortstop's reach to score Wiley with two outs. After giving up the first run, UTSA was able to force a pop-up for the final out of the inning to limit Texas State's opportunity.
 
The Roadrunners put together their biggest opportunity of the game in the top of the fifth inning. Victoria Birdwell led off with a single. Two walks and a fielder's choice later, UTSA had the bases loaded with two outs. The Roadrunners tried to take advantage, using a pinch hitter in the situation but Rayn House shut her down with a strikeout in a big moment. House finished with three strikeouts to improve to 6-1.

Texas State rode the momentum from that strikeout into the bottom of the inning. The Roadrunners walked Harris and Koroll followed with a single. Harris and Danielle Warne, pinch running for Koroll, both advanced on a double steal. Saucedo snuck a hit through the right side to score both base runners and give the Bobcats a little breathing room.

The Bobcats kept the pressure on in the inning after Saucedo's two-RBI single. Bianca Prado walked while Doerre and Masek hit consecutive singles to add two more runs. Kelli Baker earned a walk after that to load the bases for Timishia North.

UTSA reliever Chelsea Parker walked North to add another run in the big inning for the Bobcats. After that, UTSA walked two more batters to help Texas State seal the game by run rule in the fifth inning.
 
Offensively, Kendall Wiley is a primary threat for the Bobcats as she is averaging a team-high .438 with 14 hits and 11 RBI's. Wiley is in her first season in a Bobcat uniform.
 
Rayn House, a senior pitcher out of Paris, Texas, has put in 42.0 innings of work on the mound, striking out a team-high 41 batters along with recording four complete games and three shutouts. House has a 1.83 ERA and a 6-1 record in the young season.
 
Final Details
First pitch against the Mean Green is scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday evening. The Bobcats will then play two games on Friday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. against Sam Houston State and Abilene Christian followed up by a single game against Prairie View A&M on Saturday at 3 p.m. Sunday's games will be a match-up of the No. 1 vs. No. 2, No. 3 vs. No. 4, and No. 5 vs. No. 6 teams after the conclusion of the regular tournament. A link for live stats is available for all five of the Bobcat games this weekend at www.txstatebobcats.com.