BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Texas State softball team (11-4) defeated Columbia (0-5), 10-3, for the second time this weekend. The Bobcats claimed victory in all five games of Florida Atlantic's "Strike Out Cancer" Tournament at FAU Softball Stadium in southeast Florida.

"It is always nice to walk away from a weekend 5-0," head coach Ricci Woodard said. "I thought we did some things well and other areas we have to improve on. We swung the bats early, which helped our pitchers be able to attack the zone without any hesitation."

The Bobcat offense wasted little time heating up as the first three batters of the ballgame reached base without recording a hit. Sierra Steimel walked, Christiana McDowell was hit by a pitch and Hailey MacKay walked to load the bases with no outs. Tara Oltmann roped a double to right field, scoring two runners. MacKay came around to score on an RBI single up the middle off the bat of Bailee Carter. Oltmann, who advanced to third on Carter's single, stole home to score Texas State's fourth run of the game. Another Bobcat walk and a single up the middle from Jaclyn Molenaar loaded the bases for the second time in the inning. Meagan King, inserted as the designated player for Steimel, was also hit by a pitch, scoring the fifth and final run of the first inning.

In the top of the second inning, Texas State scored two more runs. Ariel Ortiz singled through the left side and scored on an RBI double from Oltmann. Two batters later, Oltmann came around to score on a wild pitch.

ArieAnn Bell tacked on a few insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning. Bell was called upon to pinch hit with the bases loaded. She delivered a two-RBI single to right field, plating Kylie Matula and Jaelyn Young. The next TXST batter, Brianna Sannem, bounced out the second base but scored Kennedy Cline from third to restore the seven-run Bobcat lead.

Krista Jacobs earned the start for the Bobcats in the circle. She was cruising through three innings of work, not allowing a hit or a walk. The one Columbia base runner through the first three frames reached via an error. Jacobs ran into trouble in the fourth, giving up three runs and four hits. McKenna Fryar was enlisted in the fifth inning to finish the game. She pitched the next two-plus innings before giving way to Randi Rupp after allowing a leadoff hit in the bottom of the seventh. Rupp slammed the door on the Lions in the seventh to secure the win for Jacobs and the Bobcats.
The Bobcats will be back in action on Wednesday in San Antonio against in-state rival UTSA. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. from Roadrunner Field. Next weekend the Bobcats will participate in the Texas A&M Invitational in College Station, Texas. TXST will play two games each against Utah and Louisiana Tech and will square off with host Texas A&M once.

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