SAN MARCOS, Texas — As the 2021 softball regular season ticks down, the importance of each conference series only intensifies and this weekend's series at Troy may be the most important for Texas State to date.
Troy (32-10, 15-3) enters the weekend in second place in the Sun Belt Conference with Texas State (31-9, 12-5) nipping on the Trojans' heels. The weekend series will begin on Friday, April 30 at 6 p.m., pick up again on Saturday, May 1 at 2 p.m. and concluding on Sunday, May 2 at 12 p.m. All three games can be viewed on ESPN+.
WHO TO WATCH: Jessica Mullins
Jessica Mullins vs. Leanna Johnson. What more could a Division I softball fan ask for? The duo ranks one and two in the league in wins with Johnson having earned 18 and Mullins 16. Johnson leads the Sun Belt Conference in earned run average (1.54) with
Jessica Mullins is right behind her with a 1.78 clip. Johnson and Mullins are one and three in the conference in strikeouts with 205 and 138, respectively. Mullins, in conference play, is tied with
Meagan King for the team-lead in wins with five, including a seven-inning victory at then-No. 14 Louisiana just two weeks ago. In her last conference appearance, Mullins scattered just two hits and struck out five in 6.1 innings against Georgia Southern.
INSIDE THE SERIES: Troy
- Texas State holds the advantage in the all-time series record with a 15-7 clip since the two teams' first meeting on March, 13, 2013, which the Bobcats won 5-0 in San Marcos.
- However, games played in Troy, Ala., haven't gone the Bobcats' way as Texas State is just 4-5 against the Trojans in the Yellowhammer State. TXST's last victory over Troy in Alabama came on April 29, 2018 when the Bobcats knocked off the Trojans 4-0.
- Texas State is currently riding a two-game winning streak after beating Troy on April 27 and April 28, 2019 by a combined 11-0.
ARE THEY REALLY STOLEN, THOUGH?
Texas State freshman left fielder
Hannah Earls enters this weekend with a team-high 16 stolen bases, which is three more than fellow freshman outfielder
Piper Randolph. Earls' 16 stolen bases this season are the most by a Bobcat freshman since
Kelli Baker was credited with 20 stolen bases during the 2013 season. Earls is currently tied with
Molly Damiani for the third-most career stolen bases behind
ArieAnn Bell's 19 and
Tara Oltmann's 26.
EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI
It didn't take long for
Jessica Mullins to burst onto the softball scene as the freshman tossed a seven-inning no-hitter in her collegiate debut earlier this season. She's also stood toe-to-toe with Texas, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Texas Tech, Baylor and Texas A&M. But she's also been masterful in games played against Sun Belt Conference teams located east of the Mississippi River. In those nine games, Mullins is 4-1 in the pitching circle with one save and a 2.25 earned run average. She's struck out 42 batters and walked just nine in 37.1 innings pitched in said games.
