Softball | 2/25/2016 3:49:00 PM

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State softball team travels to Phoenix, Ariz. on Feb. 26-28 for the Grand Canyon Invitational after a 4-1 weekend in Ruston, La. The Bobcats are 9-2 heading into the weekend and will play in five games beginning with Northern Illinois on Friday at 10 a.m.
 
The 'Cats will also take on Montana on Friday at 12:30 p.m. Saturday's games include matchups against Montana at 10 a.m. and Grand Canyon at 3:30 p.m. The Bobcats finish up the tournament with a single game against Northern Illinois at 10 a.m. on Sunday.
 
Texas State faced off against both Northern Illinois and Grand Canyon last season. In the first meeting with the Huskies, the Bobcats came out victorious with a 14-5 win. In the second contest, the Huskies made out with an 8-3 victory. Against Grand Canyon, the Bobcats fell 4-3 in the first meeting between the two teams.
 
Bobcat Tidbits
Texas State has tied the best start in school history, going 9-2 in the first two weeks of the 2016 season. Strong performances from the Bobcat pitching staff held opponents to only seven runs this past weekend while the Texas State offense racked up 23 runs.
 
At the plate, sophomore Ariel Ortiz went 9-for-14, including four doubles and four RBIs. Against Belmont, Ortiz produced the game-winning hit to put the Bobcats up 3-2 in the contest. The sophomore leads the Bobcat lineup with a .424 batting average, five doubles, 22 total bases, 11 RBI and a .667 slugging percentage. Ortiz and senior Kelli Baker lead the team with 14 hits.
 
In the circle, junior Paige Williams threw Texas State's first no-hitter of the 2016 season in an 8-0 victory over Mississippi Valley State. In her performance she tallied up six strikeouts over five innings. Williams improved her record to 2-0 and has racked up 18 strikeouts in 23.1 innings of work this season.
 
Sophomore Randi Rupp went 3-1 over the weekend, tallying 20 strikeouts in 16 innings. Prior to her loss against Louisiana Tech, Rupp allowed just four hits against Houston Baptist, Abilene Christian and Belmont. Rupp is 7-2 and has 55 strikeouts going into the weekend.
 
A Look At The Competition - Grand Canyon
Playing host, the Antelopes are 9-3 going with a perfect 6-0 home record. Grand Canyon earned victories over UMBC, Idaho State, Loyola Marymount, Utah State, Hawaii and Colorado State. The Antelopes fell victim to BYU, Weber State and UTEP.
 
Camree Wartman leads the offensive charge for the Antelopes with a .523 batting average and 23 hits. The junior is followed by Shea Smith, who carries a .500 batting average and has tallied 21 hits and nine doubles. Four of the Antelopes carry a batting average over .400. At the plate, Grand Canyon hit six home runs in its first two weeks.
 
In the circle, junior Taylor Nowlin leads the staff with a 1.36 ERA, 36 innings and 29 strikeouts. Nowlin carries a 3-1 record while Kailey Regester leads the staff with a 4-1 record.
 
The Antelopes are led by Ann Pierson, who is in her 13^th season as head coach.
 
Montana
Montana enters the Grand Canyon Invitational with a 5-5 overall record. Victories last weekend for the Grizzlies were against Illinois State and Memphis. Montana has three more tournaments on the road before returning to play its last preseason tournament at home. 
 
Delene Colburn leads the team offensively with a .400 batting average. Freshman Sydney Stites has more than produced for the Grizzly offense. Stites has hit all three of Montana's home runs this season and leads the team with eight RBIs, 24 total bases and a .706 slugging percentage.
 
Haley Young is a perfect 3-0 in the circle for the Grizzlies.  The sophomore carries a 3.50 ERA and has struck out nine batters in 16 innings. Freshman Maddy Stensby leads the staff with a 3.40 ERA over 22.2 innings.
 
Jamie Pinkerton enters his second season at the helm for the Grizzlies.
 
Northern Illinois
The Northern Illinois Huskies enter their second tournament of the season with a 2-3 record. Last weekend the Huskies were victorious against Florida A&M, but fell to Florida Atlantic and UConn.
 
At the plate, senior Emily Naegele leads the team .571 batting average, eight hits, three doubles, one triple, two home runs, five RBI and 19 total bases. Naegele also leads with a 1.357 slugging percentage and a .571 on base percentage. Kayti Grable follows behind Naegele with a .333 batting average.
 
In the circle, NIU is led by Tara Thacker who has put in 13.1 innings of work so far this season. She has a 4.72 ERA and six strikeouts. 
 
Head coach Christina Sutcliffe enters her fourth season leading the Huskies.
 
Final Details
First pitch against Northern Illinois is schedule for 10 a.m. Friday morning. Live stats for all games this weekend will be available at www.txstatebobcats.com.