SAN MARCOS, Texas – Freshmen led the way for Texas State as the Bobcats swept Sam Houston State and Northern Illinois on the first day of the Hampton Inn and Suites Tournament. Texas State put away the Bearkats, 6-1, in the team's first game of the day, and fought back from an early 3-0 deficit to dominate Northern Illinois, 14-5.
 
Freshmen Ariel Ortiz and Randi Rupp made impressive debuts to help the Bobcats to an early 2-0 start on the season. Ortiz finished the day 6-for-9 with two home runs, a triple, two doubles, six RBI and five runs scored. Meanwhile, Rupp did her work from the pitcher's circle, striking out 15 batters, walking none and only allowing five hits without an earned run in 10 innings of play. Opponents only hit .132 against her Friday as she picked up a win and a save.
 
In addition to Ortiz and Rupp, seven other Bobcats stood out, hitting .333 or better. Five Bobcats finished the day with two RBI while Sara Rupp added one more. Texas State outhit opponents, 23-11, on Friday and outscored them, 20-6.
 
The Bobcats started the day with a run in the second inning for an early lead on Sam Houston State. Lexi Fryar led off the bottom of the second with a single through the left side and went to second on a groundout. With Fryar at second, Kimberlin Naivar knocked a single up the middle to plate Fryar for the 1-0 lead.
 
In the third inning, Texas State loaded the bases and a Rupp walk brought in one more run. Courtney Harris started it with a walk and Bianca Prado followed it by legging out an infield single. Fryar loaded the bases when she reached on an error. Rupp worked the count full and worked the Bearkat pitcher for the walk that brought in Harris and put Texas State up 2-0.
 
Ortiz didn't wait long for her first home run, knocking it out in the fourth inning of her first collegiate game. She sent the first pitch of the bottom of the fourth inning over the left centerfield wall for a 3-0 Texas State lead. After that, Kelli Baker took advantage of SHSU errors to tally another Texas State run. She knocked a ball to right field and ran all the way to third base on a bobble by the right fielder. After a Texas State groundout, Sam Houston State tried to pick off Baker at third but overthrew the ball to let her score with ease and put Texas State up 4-0.
 
The Bobcats kept the pressure on in the fifth inning with two more runs. Rupp singled and Alli Akina, pinch running for Rupp, scored when Ortiz tripled to right field. Ortiz would also score on the play thanks to an error from SHSU.
 
Sam Houston State answered with a run in the sixth inning, but it would not be enough as the Bobcats prevailed, 6-1. Randi Rupp picked up her first win of the season with seven innings pitched, seven strikeouts, no walks and no earned runs.
 
Texas State fell behind early in the second game as Northern Illinois scored three runs with two homers in the opening inning to put the Bobcats in a 3-0 deficit.
 
The Bobcats waited until the fourth inning to answer, but Fryar did it with an exclamation point. After a Prado walk, Fryar sent a home run down the left line for the second Texas State homer of the day. With the homer, Fryar brought the Bobcats within a run of Northern Illinois, 3-2.
 
Unfortunately for Texas State, Northern Illinois answered with another home run in the bottom of the inning, this one coming from Alaynie Woolard, to put the Huskies up 4-2 after four innings. The Bobcats, however, weren't done. In the fifth inning, Ortiz knocked her second homer of the day to pull Texas State within one yet again, 4-3. Baker followed Ortiz for back-to-back home runs when she put one off the scoreboard in right field to tie the game, 4-4.
 
After the home runs, the Bobcats put runners at second and third. A passed ball from Northern Illinois led to a run for Texas State and a 5-4 Bobcat lead before UNI could end the top of the fifth.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, with Northern Illinois looking to answer the Texas State onslaught, Randi Rupp shut the Huskies down and struck out the side for a 1-2-3 inning.
 
The Bobcat bats followed in the sixth inning. Katie Doerre started with a leadoff double, and, after Naivar used a sacrifice bunt to move the runner to third, Ortiz continued her impressive debut with a double to deep left center to give Texas State a two-run lead, 6-4. Kendall Wiley kept the pressure on with a single to score Ortiz and make it 7-4 in favor of Texas State in the top of the sixth inning.
 
After each team traded runs in the bottom of the sixth and top of the seventh, Ortiz capped an impressive day. She almost sent another home run out, but, instead, settled for a double off the top of the wall to score two more runs and put the game out of reach with a 10-5 Texas State lead in the top of the seventh. The Bobcats piled on with four runs before Northern Illinois finally ended the inning.
 
Randi Rupp's pitching to close out the second game proved to be too much for Northern Illinois.
 
Texas State continues the Hampton Inn and Suites Tournament with games against Sam Houston State and Pittsburgh at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. respectively Saturday.