CLEARWATER, Fla. – The Texas State softball team extended its winning streak to three Friday afternoon at the USF-Under Armour Invitational with a sweep over Big 10 opponent Purdue and tournament host South Florida. The Bobcats went into extras to defeat Purdue by a score of 2-1 before ending the day with an 8-2 victory over USF.
 
The Bobcats improve to 14-5 overall this season. Randi Rupp earned her 10^th victory of the season in eight innings pitched against Purdue and Paige Williams improved to 4-1 after her win against USF.
 
Game One – Purdue
The Boilermakers and the Bobcats went seven scoreless innings before the scoring action started for both teams. Prior to extras, the teams combined for just five hits.
 
Kelli Baker reached the furthest of any base runner for Texas State prior to extras as she advanced to second base in the first inning and third base in the sixth. She got on base each time by drawing walks.
 
In the top of the eighth inning, Sara Rupp was placed on second base due to the international tiebreaker rule. Kayleigh Norte came in to pinch run for Rupp and quickly made her way home after Bianca Prado tripled to right center field. Prado then came in to score the second run of the day after Braegan Hamilton hit a ball out to left center. The 'Cats had another chances to score later in the inning, but a fly ball to the outfield by Ariel Ortiz resulted in a double play as Hamilton was thrown out at third.
 
Purdue got one run back in its half of the eighth after a single up the middle with two outs scored the runner from second, but a fly out to right field ended the game.
 
Prado and Kimberlin Naivar recorded the only two Bobcat hits of the game. Rupp struck out a season-high 13 batters while allowing zero walks for Texas State.
 
Game Two – South Florida
After a scoreless first, USF got on the board in the bottom of the second to take a 1-0 lead over Texas State. The score remained 1-0 in favor of the Bulls through four innings before the Bobcat offense came alive.
 
In the top of the fifth, a pair of walks put Naivar and Hamilton on base for Texas State. With two outs and runners on first and second, Baker launched her first home run of the season to put the 'Cats ahead 3-1.
 
The Bobcats added one more in the sixth with a lead-off home run by Kendall Wiley.
 
In the seventh with two outs, the Texas State bats went to work once again. With runners on the corners, Ortiz singled to centerfield to score the fifth Bobcat run of the game. Three more runs then scored on the next at bat when Wiley hit her second consecutive home run of the game. Two more runners would get on base for Texas State after Wiley's homer, but a pop up to shortstop would end the inning.
 
USF added one in the bottom of the seventh, but was unable to do anymore damage as the Bobcats cruised to their 14^th victory of the season.
 
Baker and Wiley finished the game with two hits each for Texas State and registered seven combined RBIs. Williams struck out three in the victory and Quincy Charleston came into the game to get the final out for the Bobcats.
 
The victory over Purdue was the first win over the Boilermakers since the 2007 season and today's meeting against USF was the first in school history.
 
Texas State will now take the field again tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. CT against Penn at the USF-Under Armour Invitational. Follow the Texas State softball team on Twitter at @TxStateSoftball for updates.