ATLANTA – The Texas State softball team (16-7) took two from Georgia State (13-10) in the opening weekend of Sun Belt Conference action on Saturday afternoon. In game one, the Bobcats blanked the Panthers, 2-0, behind a stellar outing from Randi Rupp. It took 10 innings for the Bobcats to separate from the Panthers, winning 5-4 in extra innings.

"I was really happy with how we competed throughout the day," head coach Ricci Woodard said. "We are usually pretty evenly matched with GSU, so we talked about battling it out and I thought we did that. Offensively, we had output from many different people, but Tara came up big in game one, and Ariel got the job done in game two. Our pitching staff continued to keep us in the game. Randi threw it well both games, and McKenna did her job for us with her start. I am very pleased to get two wins on the day."

Ariel Ortiz was tremendous at the plate, finding base on five of her seven plate appearances in the two contests in Atlanta. She delivered three RBIs to lead the Texas State offense. Hailey MacKay swung a hot bat, going 4-of-7 in her first two SBC games.

GAME 1
TEXAS STATE 2, GEORGIA STATE 0

In game one of Texas State's Sun Belt Conference-opening victory, the Bobcats scored the only two runs of the game in the fourth inning, playing two runs on four hits.

MacKay opened the frame with a single up the middle before being lifted by a pinch runner, Meagan King. The freshman advanced to second on a single through the left side off the bat of Ortiz. The ensuing batter, Tara Oltmann, dropped a single into right field. King raced around to score and Ortiz advanced to third on the play. Jaelyn Young delivered a single through the left side to plate Ortiz to close out the inning.

Randi Rupp earned the victory for the Bobcats, pitching seven strong innings. The Panthers scattered six hits against the senior right-hander, but mustered only one extra-base hit. Rupp struck out seven batters while walking just one Georgia State batter. Rupp improves her season record to 10-5.

GAME 2
TEXAS STATE 5, GEORGIA STATE 4 (10 innings)

The Bobcat offense wasted little time getting started in game two, scoring a run on two hits in the top half of the first inning. Jaclyn Molenaar singled back to the pitcher on the first pitch she saw. MacKay singled up the middle, advancing Molenaar to third base. Ortiz lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to score Molenaar and give Texas State a 1-0 lead. Georgia State scored an unearned run in the bottom of the third inning to tie the game. The Panthers obtained a runner in scoring position with a leadoff double. The home team had runners on the corners via a fielding error on a bunt attempt. The runner on third base was waved home on a sacrifice fly.

Texas State quickly regained the lead, striking in the top of the fifth inning. Christiana McDowell doubled to lead off the frame. The next two batters recorded outs, setting the table for Ortiz. The senior shortstop delivered a single up the middle to score McDowell from second base. The Panthers scored a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the game at 2-2 on an RBI double to right center.

The Bobcats finally broke through in the top of the 10th inning. McDowell started the inning with a single to left field before advancing to third on a bunt from Kennedy Cline. MacKay drew a walk to give the Cats runners on the corners with one away in the inning. Ortiz stepped to the plate and drove in her third RBI of the game, scoring McDowell on a double to left center. Tara Oltmann looped a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Meagan King, who was inserted as a pinch runner for MacKay. To close the inning, Bailee Carter singled through the right side to score Ortiz. Texas State scored three runs in the inning on three hits.

McKenna Fryar earned the start in the circle for coach Woodard in the second game. The freshman pitched into the sixth inning, officially pitching five full innings. She yielded two runs, one earned, on four hits and no walks while striking out one batter. Rupp entered in relief in the sixth inning, pitching five innings and striking out 11 Panther batters.

Next up, Texas State will look for the series sweep of Georgia State at 11 a.m. CDT on Sunday in Atlanta. The Bobcats will be back in San Marcos for a contest with Incarnate Word on Tuesday before heading back on the road for a matchup with Baylor on Wednesday evening. The Bobcats and Cardinals will square off at 2 p.m. while TXST and BU will have a first pitch of 6 p.m. in Waco, Texas.

For all things Texas State softball, be sure to follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.