SAN MARCOS, Texas — Following a dominant freshman season in the pitching circle for the University of Southern Mississippi, Karsen Pierce has elected to continue her collegiate softball career at Texas State University, Bobcat head coach Ricci Woodard announced Friday morning. 

"We can't wait to watch Karsen pitch in a Bobcat uniform," Woodard said. "We feel she will be a great compliment to an already very good pitching staff!" 

Pierce, a 5-foot-8 right-handed pitcher from Daphne, Ala., posted a 4-4 record in 14 appearances, which included 10 starts, as a Golden Eagles throughout the 2021 season. Her 2.54 earned run average was the lowest on the staff, while she was the only USM pitcher to not allow a home run last season. She struck out 61 batters and walked only 24 while holding opponents to a .253 batting average. 

Pierce also slashed .277/.388/.505 in 101 plate appearances last season. She was credited with 51 total bases, which included five home runs and eight doubles, and drove in 16 runs. She scored 14 runs and swiped two bases. She had a 2-for-3 performance with the bat at Alabama in addition to hitting a solo home run in another 2-for-3 afternoon against Mississippi State. Her best career performance at the dish came against Jackson State when she went 3 for 3 with two home runs, four runs batted in and scored three runs. 

Pierce began her collegiate career in dominate fashion as she set a career high with 16 strikeouts in nine innings of work against North Dakota. She went on to throw a five-inning no-hitter at Southern University in her next appearance six days later. Less than a month later, she earned the win against Troy with an eight-inning performance where she struck out six and did not issue a walk. 

During the 2021 season, Pierce also made appearance in the pitching circle for Southern Mississippi against a quintet of Southeastern Conference (SEC) opponents in LSU, Auburn, Mississippi State and Alabama. In 13.1 innings pitched against SEC foes, Pierce struck out eight batters and allowed only one extra-base hit — a double at Alabama to cap the 13.1-inning streak. 

Pierce becomes the fourth Division I transfer into the program this offseason following the additions of Anna Jones (LSU), Claire Ginder (Furman) and Dani Elder (Texas A&M).