PREVIEW: TXST Locks in on Littlewood Classic

Softball v SHSU
Peter Vives

Softball | 2/15/2018 9:00:00 AM

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State University softball team will head west for the 2018 Littlewood Classic hosted by Arizona State. The Bobcats enter the weekend having lost three of five games in the opening weekend of the season. At the Bobcat Classic, TXST won a pair of games against former Southland rival, Sam Houston State. The Bobcats lost both games against no. 9 Florida State and dropped a Monday afternoon game against Boston College.

Last Time Out for the Bobcats
• Texas State struggled in the Bobcat Classic, dropping two of the four contests. TXST defeated Sam Houston State in a pair of close games. Randi Rupp spun a gem of a game in the season-opener, going seven scoreless innings. The Bobcats capitalized on an error by the Bearkats that scored the only three runs of the game. In game three of the classic, TXST used a late rally to trump SHSU for the second time.
• Both losses in the classic came at the hands of the ninth ranked Florida State Seminoles. The first matchup was tight, a 4-2 FSU win. Both TXST runs came off of solo home runs by Hailey MacKay. The second game against the Seminoles saw FSU run rule the Bobcats in a shutout.
• On Feb. 12, the Bobcats dropped a nail biter against Boston College, falling 4-3 to close out the home stand.

Texas State in the Littlewood Classic
• Texas State looks to rebound in Tempe, Ariz. in the Littlewood Classic on the campus of Arizona State. The Bobcats will take on Arizona State, Illinois State, North Dakota (twice) and San Diego in five game spanning from Friday through Sunday.

Inside the Series
•Texas State opens the event with a 11 a.m. CT matchup with the Redbirds of Illinois State. The Friday morning game will be the sixth time the two teams have met on the softball diamond. The Bobcats hold the series advantage, 3-2, however TXST has not defeated Illinois State outside of San Marcos.
• Next up for the Bobcats will be North Dakota on Friday at 4 p.m. CT and Saturday at 3:15 p.m. CT. The Bobcats won the only matchup with the Fighting Hawks, winning 11-0 in five innings in El Paso, Texas back on Feb. 27, 2011.
• In the fourth game of the Littlewood Classic, the Bobcats will take on the host team, Arizona State. The game will be the night cap on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 8:15 p.m. CT. The game will be the first matchup between the Bobcats and the Sun Devils out of the Pac-12 Conference.
• Finally, Texas State will take on San Diego on the final day of action, Sunday, with first pitch slated for 12:30 p.m. The Bobcats have not faced the Toreros of the West Coast Conference.

Randi Rupp and Ariel Ortiz Named Preseason All-Sun Belt
• Texas State senior right-handed pitcher Randi Rupp was named Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference and the Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Senior shortstop Ariel Ortiz also earned a Preseason All-Conference Team nod and was honored with Preseason Player of the Year distinctions.
• Rupp, who earned her third consecutive Sun Belt Preseason Pitcher of the Year accolade, is a three-time first team All-Sun Belt Conference honoree, a two-time second team NFCA All-Central Region selection and was named second-team All-American by the NFCA in 2017. Rupp has amassed 953 strikeouts in 779 career innings pitched. She earned a decision in 38 of 39 starts a season ago, ending with a record of 28-10. Rupp struck out 325 batters in 264.1 innings in the circle, compared to only 56 walks. She yielded 46 earned runs, giving her a career-low 1.22 ERA for the season.
• Heading into her senior season, Rupp ranks in the top five in every career pitching stat at Texas State. She is second in both wins (82) and strikeouts (953), third in innings pitched (779), ERA (1.84), and shutouts (33) and is fourth in appearances (140) and complete games (75). She has two of Texas State's 15 no-hitters and spun one of the three perfect games in program history.
• Ortiz earned first team All-Sun Belt recognition a year ago after batting a team-best .343 with 47 RBI and 34 runs scored. Ortiz started at shortstop in each of TXST's 59 games in 2017. She set the new team record, smashing 15 home runs during her junior campaign and topped the career home run list with 33 career homers. Ortiz also led the Bobcats in hits (62), doubles (16), total bases (127), slugging percentage (.702) and assists (102).
• On top of the being the leader in career home runs, Ortiz also is top-10 in school history in career RBIs, doubles, runs scored and walks drawn.

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Players Mentioned

Ariel Ortiz

#2 Ariel Ortiz

SS
5' 4"
Junior
R/R
Randi Rupp

#4 Randi Rupp

RHP
5' 11"
Junior
R/R

Players Mentioned

Ariel Ortiz

#2 Ariel Ortiz

5' 4"
Junior
R/R
SS
Randi Rupp

#4 Randi Rupp

5' 11"
Junior
R/R
RHP