LAFAYETTE, La. – The No. 24 Texas State softball team (31-10, 12-2 SBC) fell to No. 21 Louisiana (28-11, 14-4 SBC) by a score of 3-1 in a rare Monday matinee Sun Belt Conference matchup at Lamson Park.

For the second time in as many games, Hailey MacKay took Louisiana's starting pitcher Summer Ellyson deep to left field. In the top of the fourth inning with the Bobcats down 3-0, MacKay hit a 2-2 pitch over the fence in left field. The sophomore hit the game-sealing home run in Texas State's 4-0 victory on Sunday afternoon. MacKay leads the Bobcats with nine home runs this season.

Tara Oltmann provided the Bobcats with a pair of defensive gems, both resulting in double plays. In the bottom of the third inning, Oltmann fielded a ground ball, alertly tagged the runner attempting to advance to second base before firing over to first base to beat the runner. The second came in the bottom of the fifth inning, she snared a line drive and doubled off the runner diving back into first base. She ended the fifth by sliding to her left and fielding a sharply hit ground ball and tossing the ball over to first in time.

In the circle, Randi Rupp was given the ball for the second time in the series. She allowed two early runs on two hits in the bottom of the first inning. The first run came across on an RBI groundout, plating the runner from third. Run two scored on an RBI sacrifice fly two batters later. In the bottom of the third, the Cajuns struck again. With two away in the frame LA pieced together a run with a double and an RBI single. Rupp finished the game yielding three runs on seven hits while striking out four Louisiana batters.

Next up, Texas State will have a quick turnaround, traveling to San Antonio to duel with Incarnate Word before hosting ULM in a weekend series at Bobcat Softball Stadium.

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Senior pitcher Randi Rupp was named a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award on April 5, 2018. She was selected as one of 10 finalists who were chosen by national media from the list of 30 candidates announced earlier this month. Nationwide fan voting has begun to help select the winner, and fans are encouraged to submit votes online at the Senior CLASS Award website through May 14. Fan votes will be combined with those of the media and Division I head coaches to determine the winners. The Senior CLASS Award recipient for softball will be announced during the 2018 NCAA Women's College World Series® in Oklahoma City, May 31 through June 6.