STATESBORO, Ga. – The Texas State softball team (24-19, 12-7 Sun Belt) toppled the Georgia Southern Eagles (19-23, 5-14 Sun Belt) in a pair of ballgames at Eagle Field on Thursday evening in a conference doubleheader. TXST emerged with a 7-1 victory in game one and a 5-3 win to close the day.

GAME 1: TXST 7, GS 1
KEY MOMENTS
- The Bobcats opened the scoring in the top of the first inning. Junior outfielder Christiana McDowell reached base via a bunt single on the first pitch of the game. She found third on an error and a sacrifice bunt. Sophomore infielder Tara Oltmann bounced out to shortstop to score McDowell from third.
- Oltmann drove in the second run of the game for TXST with a third-inning RBI double to right center.
- McDowell smashed her fourth home run of the season over the left field wall in the top of the fifth inning. The solo shot increased the Bobcat lead to 3-0.
- Oltmann delivered her third RBI in the top of the seventh inning on a bloop single into shallow left field. Sophomore infielder ArieAnn Bell scored a pair on a triple to deep center field to push the tally to 7-0.
- Georgia Southern broke up the shutout with a two-out RBI double off the bat of senior infielder Hannah Farrell in the bottom of the seventh frame.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Sophomore pitcher Meagan King (15-9) earned the victory for the Bobcats in game one of the doubleheader. She allowed one earned run on six hits and three walks. She stranded 10 base runners and struck out three Eagles.
- Oltmann charted a game-high three runs batted in out of the three-hole in the lineup. She leads the Bobcats with 10 multi-RBI games this season.
- Texas State placed the leadoff hitter on base in six of the seven innings played. Five Bobcat batters collected hits to open an inning, while one reached via walk.

NOTABLES
- The leadoff bunt for McDowell was her 50th hit of the season. Texas State has had at least one batter record 50-plus hits in each season since 2011.
- Bell extended her on-base streak to a team-best 17 games with a leadoff double in the top of the second inning. The hit marked her 12th extra-base hit of the season.

GAME 2: TXST 5, GS 3
KEY MOMENTS
- Georgia Southern took an early lead in the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning. Freshman designated player Jess Mazur laced a two-run single into center field.
- The Bobcats evened the score in the top of the fourth inning with a couple of runs. Bell connected on an RBI single through the left side for the first Bobcat run of the game. Junior infielder Hailey MacKay tied the game with an RBI single of her own two batters later.
- Texas State gained the advantage in the top of the fifth inning on a throwing error from the GS catcher. McDowell broke for second on a steal attempt and the throw down was wide of the mark. Junior infielder Bailee Carter walked home from third as a result of the errant throw to break the tie and move the score to 3-2.
- The Eagles tied the game up in the bottom of the fifth to set the stage for MacKay once again. In the top of the sixth she rocketed the go-ahead RBI single off the glove of the third baseman. The hit put the Cats ahead 4-3.
- Oltmann added an insurance run in the top of the seventh to put the Bobcats up 5-3.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Junior pitcher Dalilah Barrera (6-4) earned the victory in a relief role. She pitched the final 5.2 innings of the game and allowed one run on three hits and a walk. She struck out 10 Eagle batters to include seven of the final nine outs recorded in the came.
- Four Bobcats registered multi-hit games. McDowell, Oltmann, MacKay, and Carter each tallied two hits as the team out-hit GS 10-6. Both squads left five runners on base.
- The Texas State defense was sharp behind Barrera when given the opportunity to make a play. TXST did not commit an error in 10 fielding chances, while GS booted four plays in 18 tries.

NOTABLES
- Bell has hit .333 (14-for-42) with 15 walks drawn, three doubles, two home runs, and 10 runs batted in during her 18-game on-base streak.
- The victory gives Texas State seven-straight over Georgia Southern, including four in a row in Statesboro. TXST holds a 13-3 series advantage between the two schools.
- The strikeout number from Barrera marked a season high. She topped her previous high of nine back on Feb. 15 against San Jose State. Barrera has struck out seven-plus batters in six appearances this season.

ON DECK
- The Bobcats will aim to sweep the season series from Georgia Southern with game three of the set scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on April 20 from Eagle Field.  

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