Softball | 2/9/2017 10:15:00 AM

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State University softball program, coming off a successful 40-win campaign a year ago, opens the 2017 campaign by hosting the annual CenturyLink Classic at Bobcat Softball Stadium this Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 10-12).

Texas State returns 12 letterwinners, including seven starters, from last season's team that earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional. Among those returning is all-conference and all-district pitcher Randi Rupp along with all-conference selections Taylor Webb and Corrina Liscano. Overall, the Bobcats return seven of their top 10 hitters and the entire pitching staff from 2016.

TEXAS STATE'S CENTURYLINK CLASSIC SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, FEB. 10
3:00 p.m. – Texas State vs. Abilene Christian
      LIVE VIDEO:  TXStateBobcats.com
      LIVE STATS:  TXStateBobcats.com
      LIVE AUDIO: KTSW (89.9 FM)

5:00 p.m. – Texas Tech vs. Texas State 
      LIVE VIDEO:  TXStateBobcats.com
      LIVE STATS:  TXStateBobcats.com
      LIVE AUDIO: KTSW (89.9 FM)

SATURDAY, FEB. 11
10:00 a.m. – Iowa vs. Texas State
      LIVE VIDEO:  TXStateBobcats.com
      LIVE STATS:  TXStateBobcats.com

12:30 p.m. – Texas State vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 
      LIVE VIDEO:  TXStateBobcats.com
      LIVE STATS:  TXStateBobcats.com

SUNDAY, FEB. 12
2:00 p.m. – Abilene Christian vs. Texas State
      LIVE VIDEO:  TXStateBobcats.com
      LIVE STATS:  TXStateBobcats.com
      LIVE AUDIO: KTSW (89.9 FM)

Bobcats Host Annual CenturyLink Classic To Open Season

• Texas State opens the 2017 campaign as hosts to the annual CenturyLink Classic at Bobcat Softball Stadium. The three-day event features the Bobcats along with Iowa of the Big Ten, the Big 12's Texas Tech and Abilene Christian and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi of the Southland Conference.

  Inside the Series

•Texas State will play Abilene Christian twice during the event (Feb. 10 at 3 p.m. and Feb. 12 at 2 p.m.). The Bobcats lead the all-time series against the Wildcats 4-0, including a 3-0 mark in San Marcos.

• Texas State and Texas Tech will play at 5 p.m. on Feb. 10. Texas Tech holds an 18-14 all-time series advantage, but the Bobcats took 2 of 3 from the Red Raiders during the 2015 CenturyLink Classic.

• The Bobcats face Iowa at 10 a.m. on Feb. 11. Iowa leads the all-time series 3-1, but the Bobcats are 1-0 against the Hawkeyes in San Marcos.

• Texas State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi are slated for a 12:30 p.m. first pitch on Feb. 11. The Bobcats lead the all-time series against the Islanders by a 31-14 margin, including 16-3 in San Marcos.

Texas State Selected Second In Sun Belt Preseason Poll

• Texas State was voted second in a preseason poll of the Sun Belt Conference's head coaches.

• Defending regular season and tournament champion Louisiana was voted as the preseason favorite, receiving 100 points and all 10 first-place votes. Texas State received 87 points to edge out South Alabama (80 points) for second. Georgia State and Georgia Southern rounded out the top five with 68 and 55 points, respectively. Troy (44 points) was voted sixth followed by UTA (41 points) and Sun Belt newcomer Coastal Carolina (32 points). ULM (30 points) was picked ninth and Appalachian State rounded out the poll in 10th with 11 points. 

Randi Rupp And Corrina Liscano Named Preseason All-Sun Belt

• Texas State junior right-handed pitcher Randi Rupp was named Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference and the Preseason Pitcher of the Year, while third baseman Corrina Liscano was named to the 15-member Preseason All-Conference Team, as voted by the league's head coaches.

• Rupp, who earned her second consecutive Sun Belt Preseason Pitcher of the Year accolade, is a two-time first team All-Sun Belt Conference honoree and a two-time second team NFCA All-Central Region selection. Rupp has amassed 628 strikeouts in 514.1 career innings pitched. She owns a 2.16 career ERA and has accumulated a 54-28 career record, including 11 shutouts, two no-hitters and a perfect game. The junior ranks in the top 10 in each of Texas State's career pitching annals, including fourth in strikeouts, fifth in wins, fourth in shutouts and seventh in appearances (96).

• Liscano earned second team All-Sun Belt recognition a year ago after batting .292 with 32 RBI and 37 runs scored. Liscano started at third in each of TXST's 62 games in 2016 and co-led the Bobcats with six home runs. In 2016, she drew 30 walks (with an additional team-high 16 hit-by-pitches) compared to striking out only 16 times en route to posting a team-best .449 on-base percentage. She went a perfect 8 of 8 in stolen-base attempts last season.

Rupp Attends Team USA Camp; Named To USA Softball's Top 50 Watch List For Collegiate Player Of The Year

• Junior pitcher Randi Rupp spent the early part of January at the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball to the 2017 USA Softball Women's National Team Selection Camp in Clearwater, Fla. She was one of only 43 to receive the prestigious invitation to take part in the annual camp.

• In late January, Rupp was named to the preseason 2017 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year "Watch List." She was one of 16 pitchers named to the list and one of six Sun Belt Conference student-athletes.