AUSTIN, Texas — For the second time this season, an I-35 Showdown between the Texas State University and University of Texas softball programs went down to the wire as a seventh-inning rally by the Bobcats made the No. 9 Longhorns uncomfortable until Shealyn O'Leary was summoned to help UT escape with a 5-4 victory.
"I didn't like the way we competed early and that's something I told the team," said Texas State softball head coach
Ricci Woodard. "We are too good to not show up and compete every single time we step on the field. We didn't show up tonight ready to compete and that's what frustrated me."
After throwing a career-long 7.2 innings of unearned softball against Texas on February 24, freshman
Jessica Mullins (14-6) returned to the circle, again, Wednesday evening to continue her good work against the Longhorns.
However, Texas (32-6) didn't wait until the bottom of the eighth inning to jump into the run column this time as the Longhorns struck for two first-inning runs off only one hit, two walks and two Bobcat fielding errors.
Mullins returned to form, though, as she surrounded only leadoff singles to start the second and third innings and not allowing a baserunner to advance past first. Her consecutive innings of unearned softball against Texas was brought to an end, however, at 11 innings on a Jordyn Whitaker solo home run with one out in the bottom of the fourth. JJ Smith followed with a second solo home run and ending the evening for Mullins, who allowed only two earned runs, scattered four hits and struck out five in 3.1 innings.
The Longhorns extended their lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the fifth when Mary Iakopo connected on a 2-2 pitch for a one-out solo home run.
Texas State (27-9) began its attempted comeback in the top of the sixth when
Sara Vanderford doubled down the right-field line to score
Kylie George from second and advanced
Hannah Earls, who extended her on-base streak to a career-long 20 games, to third with two away. But Vanderford and Earls were left in scoring position as
Hailey MacKay grounded out to second base to end the TXST sixth.
The top of the seventh is when the real fun began as — with two outs and
Baylee Lemons at first base following a one-out single through the left side — George singled to the pitcher. Earls followed with her second single of the game to load the bases.
Piper Randolph, who hit the go-ahead run-scoring single in the Bobcats' win at then-No. 14 Louisiana on Saturday, drove in Lemons with a single to left field.
Tara Oltmann, one of two active two-time Sun Belt Conference Players of the Week on the Bobcats' squad, moved passed Katie Ann Trahan for third place on the program's all-time RBI list when she drove in two runs on the Bobcats' fourth-straight two-out single.
Oltmann's hit moved Randolph — the game-tying run — to third base as Oltmann represented the potential go-ahead run at first.
Texas then opted to bring in O'Leary (S, 3) to face Vanderford — Texas State's leading hitter — with runners at the corners and two away. Vanderford ultimately grounded out to second base after a three-pitch at bat.
"(The top of the seventh inning) didn't really surprised me, because I think we can play with anyone," said Woodard. "I believe if our pitching staff can keep us in the ballgame, we have a chance to win late in the game and we, again, proved that here tonight."
Texas State returns to Sun Belt Conference action on Saturday, April 24 when the Bobcats play host to Georgia Southern for a three-game, two-day series that concludes on Sunday, April 25.
