Softball | 2/27/2018 9:00:00 AM

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State University softball team (11-4) will close out the non-conference tournament portion of the season with a midweek matchup with in-state rival UTSA and a five-game tournament in College Station. The Tournament will feature No. 7 Texas A&M, Louisiana Tech and Utah.

Last Time Out for the Bobcats
• Texas State dominated the field in Boca Raton, Fla. over the weekend, taking all five games in the FAU "Strike Out Cancer" Tournament. The Cats toppled Columbia twice, Dartmouth, Florida Atlantic and Tulsa.
• Bailee Carter delivered two RBIs in Texas State's 6-2 victory over Columbia in game one of the tournament. Krista Jacobs earned the win in relief for the Bobcats after pitching 1.2 innings of scoreless softball.
• In game two, Randi Rupp allowed a pair of solo home runs in the first three innings. The Cats trailed by a couple heading into the fourth inning before the offense finally broke out, scoring nine runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Hailey MacKay led the Bobcats with five RBIs, including a three-run home run in the fourth inning.
• Rupp was handed the ball for game three against Tulsa and was dominant. The senior right-hander went the distance, facing 22 batters over seven innings of work. She allowed just one run on two hits. For the second straight day, MacKay blasted a three-run home run to lead the Bobcat offense.
• Game four, against Dartmouth, saw the Bobcat bats fall silent for the first five frames. The Big Green no-hit Texas State through five innings. In the top of the sixth, RBI doubles from Ariel Ortiz and Haleigh Davis broke up the shutout. McKenna Fryar was tremendous in the circle, pitching 4.2 innings of three-hit ball. Rupp came in in the bottom of the fifth to close out the game, sealing the Bobcat win.
• Tara Oltmann was the star of the fifth and final game of the tournament, a 10-3 win over Columbia. She compiled three RBIs in the first two innings while scoring a pair of runs, including a steal of home plate.

Texas State Against UTSA
• Texas State will look to continue its current five-game winning streak in San Antonio in the team's first midweek game of the 2018 season. The two rivals will meet for a second time later this season on March 28 in San Marcos.
• The Bobcats and Roadrunners have played 80 times on the softball diamond. UTSA holds a slight advantage, winning 42 games in the series, including 17 of 31 matchups in San Antonio.

Texas State in the Texas A&M Invitational
Inside the Series
•Texas State opens the weekend with a pair of games on Friday, including a 10 a.m. matchup with Utah. The Utes are 6-5 through 11 games this season, with two of the losses coming against ranked opponents. Utah has not played since defeating UC Santa Barbra on Feb. 19 as part of the Marry Nutter Classic. The two teams will square off again to close out the tournament on Sunday at 9 a.m. Texas State and Utah have met four times in softball, each team winning two games.
• Friday's second game will see the Bobcats take on Louisiana Tech at 12:15 p.m. The Bobcats and Lady Techsters will play the opening game of Saturday's action first pitch coming at 10 a.m. Louisiana Tech has owned the 16-game series with TXST, taking 11 games.
• In the fourth game of the tournament, the Cats will get a crack at the host school, No. 7 Texas A&M. The Aggies are coming off of a tough slate of games, defeating No. 5 Oregon and No. 19 Cal before dropping a heartbreaker to No. 1 Washington in nine innings.

Hailey MacKay Earns Player of the Week Accolades
• The Sun Belt Conference announced that Hailey MacKay earned player of the week accolades on Feb. 20 for her tremendous performance at Arizona State.
• In 16 official at-bats, the sophomore registered 10 hits, walked four times and did not record a strikeout. At the Littlewood Classic, MacKay hit .571 (8-of-14), drove in four runners and scored a trio of runs.
• In four of the six games played, MacKay notched multiple hits, including a season best three-hit game against the Sun Devils. She went 3-for-4 with a solo home run against No. 18 Arizona State. She safely reached base in each of the last six outings.

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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