AUSTIN, TX — On Sunday, Feb. 27,
Jessica Mullins, now a sophomore, mirrored her freshman year when she recorded her first career complete game shutout against a ranked opponent when Texas State knocked off No. 22 Arizona State, 2-0, to open the Texas Classic.
However, Texas State ultimately split its day when Tulsa withstood the Bobcats' aggressive late-inning offensive to win 9-5. Texas State will conclude its three-games-in-two-days span on Monday, Feb. 28, when the Bobcats face No. 23 Texas at 4 p.m. CT.
Playing at McCombs Field for the first time since its season ended to then-No. 10 Oregon in the 2021 Austin Regional,
Jessica Mullins (3-2) showed every bit why she was selected as a preseason All-Sun Belt performance heading into the 2022 season. Mullins, against a nationally-ranked Sun Devil lineup, tossed seven scoreless innings, struck out seven and scattered five hits.
Every Arizona State hit was a single, while Mullins' seven strikeouts were the second most by the right-hander this season after having eight in four against at NM State on Feb. 11, 2022.
Sunday's performance was Mullins' first seven-inning complete game shutout since doing so against Georgia State in the Bobcats' opening game of the 2021 Sun Belt Softball Championship on May 12, 2021.
Mullins worked around back-to-back two-out singles in the bottom of the first by inducing a popup to herself in the circle. She went on to strikeout three batters — with a two-out single sandwiched in — in the bottom of the second. The third inning provided two one-out base runners after a fielding error at first proceeded a walk, but a grounder and another strikeout kept the two Sun Devils on base.
The bottom of the fourth featured Mullins' fourth hit on a one-out single, followed by a strikeout and another popup to herself to end the inning.
While Mullins kept the Arizona State offense at bay, the Bobcat offense broke through in the top of the fifth that featured two runs on a pair of hits and a fielding error. It was the Sun Belt Conference's Preseason of the Year
Sara Vanderford who broke the 0-0 tie when she plated
Piper Randolph from third with a single back up the middle.
Anna Jones followed with her own single to bring home Vanderford from second.
Now with a two-out lead, Mullins went back to work and did not allow another base hit until a two-out pitch landed down the left-field line in the bottom of the seventh. But Mullins, true to herself, ended the game on a strike out.
Against Tulsa, it took until the bottom of the fifth inning for the Texas State offense to record its first hit — a pinch-hit single from
Samara Lagway — and by that time the Hurricanes had already blew across five runs. In the bottom of the sixth, though, it was a different story.
Texas State tied the game with a five-run inning that featured six hits — a two-out, two-run
Claire Ginder double down the left-field line being the most damaging — and one Tulsa error. The inning started with four consecutive hits as the Bobcats sent nine batters to the plate.
Despite Texas State having now found new momentum, Tulsa answered with a four-run top of the seventh that featured three of the four hits producing a run. The Bobcats nearly found a way to answer as they loaded the bases with three walks in the inning, but left them loaded to end the game.
FOLLOW US
For the latest information on the team, follow @TXStateSoftball on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. General athletic news can also be at @TxStateBobcats on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
