SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State softball team (20-17, 9-5 Sun Belt) split a pair of close games against the Appalachian State Mountaineers (26-10, 11-3 Sun Belt) at Bobcat Softball Stadium on Friday. TXST emerged with a 2-0 victory in game one, while App exacted revenge in a 2-1 game to close the day.

GAME 1: TXST 2, APP 0
KEY MOMENTS
- Senior outfielder Mari Cranek led off the bottom of the third inning with a triple to left center field. The hit marked her third three-bagger of the season. Cranek was stranded at third as the next three Bobcats in the order lined out.
- Senior outfielder Kennedy Cline helped the Bobcats break through in the bottom of the fourth inning. She ripped a bases loaded single past the second basemen to score a pair of Cats. The hit gave TXST a 2-0 lead.
- App left runners on first and second base in both the third and fourth innings. Bobcat pitching induced inning-ending pop-ups in both cases to end the threat.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Sophomore pitcher Meagan King (12-8) turned in another solid performance in the circle as she took advantage of the aggressive bats of Appalachian State. She pitched all 7.0 innings, allowed five hits, did not walk a batter, and struck out a season-best seven Mountaineers.
- Cranek led the Bobcat offense with two hits in two official trips to the plate. She recorded a single and a triple.
- Texas State recorded three extra base hits in the victory. Outside of the triple from Cranek, junior infielders Bailee Carter and Hailey MacKay each tacked on doubles.

NOTABLES
- King has earned victories in each of her last eight decisions starting with a March 17 victory over the South Alabama Jaguars in the first road series of the league slate for Texas State.
- Junior outfielder Christiana McDowell reached base with a bunt single in the first inning to give her 44 hits on the season. The figure matches a career-high for hits in a season as she collected 44 hits during the 2017 campaign.

GAME 2: APP 2, TXST 1
KEY MOMENTS
- Appalachian State jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Texas State appeared to turn a double-play to end the inning, but the call was overturned by the home plate umpire. The overturn granted App the first run of the game.
- The Mountaineers doubled the lead in the top of the fifth inning with a solo home run from senior utility player Megan Walker.
- Sophomore infielder ArieAnn Bell narrowed the gap with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. The hit brought the score to the final tally of 2-1.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Texas State scattered six hits from six different players in the lineup. Freshman pinch hitter Cassie Valdez successfully reached base in her role off the Bobcat bench.
- Senior pitcher Krista Jacobs (2-4) took the tough loss. She pitched all 7.0 innings and yielded two earned runs on six hits. She did not issue a walk and struck out one batter.
- The Bobcats managed just one hit in seven chances (.143) with runners in scoring position.

NOTABLES
- The home run hit by Bell was her team-leading seventh blast of the season. She ranks tied for ninth among Sun Belt Conference leaders in home runs this season.
- The loss is the first suffered against Appalachian State in program history. The Bobcats had won the previous 10 contests since Appalachian State joined the Sun Belt, including game one of the doubleheader.

ON DECK
- The Bobcats will aim to clinch the series in the rubber match scheduled for 11 a.m. on April 7 from Bobcat Softball Stadium.  

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