PREVIEW: Texas State to Play in 2018 NCAA Los Angeles Regional

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State softball team (42-14, 18-5 SBC) enters the NCAA Los Angeles Regional as the No. 2 seed. The Bobcats will square off with No. 3 seed Cal State Fullerton in the first game of the weekend, playing at 7:30 p.m. CT at Easton Stadium on the campus of UCLA on Friday. The Bruins claimed the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament and will be the top-seeded team in the Los Angeles Regional. The runners-up in the Pac-12 Conference will take on the No. 4 seed Sacramento State Hornets at 11 p.m. CT on Friday night. The Regional will be played in double-elimination format. The Los Angeles Regional central page can be viewed here.

Three-Peat: Bobcats Headed to Los Angeles Regional
• For just the first time in program history, Texas State advanced to the NCAA Regionals for the third consecutive season. The Bobcats were selected as the No. 2 seed in the Los Angeles Regional to be paired with the No. 1 seed, the national third seed, UCLA Bruins. The remainder of the Regional consists of No. 3 seed Cal State Fullerton and No. 4 seed Sacramento State.
• A season ago, TXST was sent to the College Station Regional hosted by Texas A&M. The Bobcats were eliminated after back-to-back losses to the Aggies and the Texas Longhorns after beating UT in the first game of the Regional.
• In 2016, Texas State lost a pair of ball games to California in the Tuscaloosa Regional hosted by the Alabama Crimson Tide.
• As a program, Texas State has reached the NCAA Regional nine times: 1999, 2001, 2003, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017 and 2018, the last eight coming under the direction of head coach Ricci Woodard. The Bobcats hold a record of 9-16 in the previous eight postseason appearances.

NCAA Los Angeles Regional Schedule
• Friday, May 18
Game 1 – #3 seed Cal State Fullerton vs. #2 seed Texas State – 7:30 p.m. CT
Game 2 – #4 seed Sacramento State vs. #1 seed UCLA – 10 p.m. CT

• Saturday, May 19
Game 3 – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner – 4 p.m. CT – ESPN Family of Networks
Game 4 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser – 6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN Family of Networks
Game 5 – Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Winner – 9 p.m. CT – ESPN Family of Networks

• Sunday, May 20
Game 6 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner – 6 p.m. CT – ESPN Family of Networks
Game 7 – Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser (if necessary) – 8:30 p.m. CT – ESPN Family of Networks

Sun Belt Regular Season and Tournament Champions
• The Bobcats waited until the final day of the regular season to clinch the conference championship, defeating UT Arlington by a score of 4-1 on Senior Day. The title is the school's seventh regular season championship and first since joining the Sun Belt Conference in 2014.
• Less than a week after being crowned regular season champs, Texas State upended Louisiana in the Sun Belt Championship title game, 5-2, to win the program's seventh tournament title.
• Senior pitcher Randi Rupp, junior outfielder Mari Cranek and sophomore third baseman Bailee Carter were all named to the All-Tournament team. Sophomore catcher Haleigh Davis was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Sun Belt All-Conference Teams Announced
• On May 8, five members of the Texas State softball team were honored with postseason awards by the conference.
• Rupp earned her fourth consecutive nod as a Frist-Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection, becoming the first softball player in program history to earn four first team all-conference honors. Rupp was also named the 2018 Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year for the second straight season.
• Coach Woodard was announced the 2018 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year following the program's first outright Sun Belt regular season championship in softball. Woodard was named coach of the year four times in the Southland Conference.
• Ariel Ortiz was named to the first team at shortstop, her third first-team nod in four seasons. She also garnered first team honors in 2015 and 2017. The senior posted the team's second highest batting average (.333) while driving in 36 RBI.
• Hailey MacKay was the third and final Bobcat to be named to the first team. In her first season at Texas State, the sophomore led the Bobcats in 10 offensive categories, including: batting average (.364), RBI (37) and home runs (11).
• Davis was named to the second team by the Sun Belt Conference. She boasted the third highest batting average on the team, hitting .328 on the season (41-of-125). Defensively, the sophomore was dynamic, cutting down 15-of-33 attempted steals.
• Texas State has placed four players on the all-conference teams in three of the last five seasons, including four first teamers in 2015 and four second team selections in 2014.

Bobcats by the Numbers
• Four - Texas State boasts a perfect 30-0 record when scoring at least four runs in a game. Conversely, TXST is 12-14 when scoring three runs or fewer.
• 11 - Hailey MacKay leads the Bobcats with 11 home runs on the season. The transfer from Arkansas hit her first two homers in a Bobcat uniform against No. 9 Florida State in the second game of the season. She also smashed a couple of home runs in the series against No. 21 Louisiana. MacKay is one of eight Bobcats to ever hit 11+ home runs in a single season.
• 23 - Texas State cracked the top-25 poll on March 20. According to the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll, Texas State is the No. 23 team in the country. After slipping out of the rankings for a week (March 27), the Bobcats climbed back into the top-25 on April 3 and have been ranked as high as No. 21.
• 29 - The last 29 times in which Texas State has carried a lead into the fifth inning, the Bobcats came out on top. The team is 9-3 when the game is tied after five innings and are 4-11 when trailing in the same situation.

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

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Players Mentioned

#3 Bailee Carter: INF; 5' 3"; Sophomore; L/R

#9 Haleigh Davis: C/INF; 5' 3"; Sophomore; R/R

#2 Ariel Ortiz: INF; 5' 4"; Senior; R/R

#4 Randi Rupp: RHP; 5' 11"; Senior; R/R

#15 Mari Cranek: OF; 5' 5"; Junior; R/L

#25 Hailey MacKay: INF; 5' 8"; Sophomore; R/R

Players Mentioned

#3 Bailee Carter
: 5' 3"; Sophomore; L/R
: INF

#9 Haleigh Davis
: 5' 3"; Sophomore; R/R
: C/INF

#2 Ariel Ortiz
: 5' 4"; Senior; R/R
: INF

#4 Randi Rupp
: 5' 11"; Senior; R/R
: RHP

#15 Mari Cranek
: 5' 5"; Junior; R/L
: OF

#25 Hailey MacKay
: 5' 8"; Sophomore; R/R
: INF