CONWAY, S.C. — Behind its largest offensive output in a Sun Belt game so far this season, the Texas State softball program clinched the three-game weekend series at Coastal Carolina with a 9-0 win over the Chanticleers on Saturday afternoon. 

"I liked our aggressiveness and the way we swung the bats and hit the ball back up the middle of the field today," said Texas State softball head coach Ricci Woodard. "I thought we did a great job of staying behind the ball all day today."

The bats woke up for Texas State (16-13, 4-4) in the top of the third when freshman Ciara Trahan scored the first of her career-high three runs on the day when Hannah Earls grounded out to first. The play also moved Kylie George to third and later scored on a Sara Vanderford two-out double to extend the Bobcats' lead. 

An inning later, the Bobcats busted the gates down with a four-run inning on two hits and two Chanticleer errors. The big blow was a two-run, one-out single by Kylie George to score Trahan and Claire Ginder. The two-run hit for George tied her career high for most RBI in a single game set at Baylor on April 14, 2021. 

"The biggest goal for us with (Ciara and Kylie) is to get them on the basepaths, because I feel like when they get on the basepaths, we can be dangerous," Woodard said. "But I thought they did a great job of adjusting their plans today and working through the middle of the field and sending pitches back to spots that were left open for them."

Now with a 6-0 run through the game's first five innings, Texas State looked to close out the game before reaching the seventh inning. And the Bobcats did just that in the sixth. 

After Ginder reached on a fielding error, advanced to second on a wild pitch then stole third, Trahan worked a full-count walk and George followed with a fielder's choice. Hannah Earls earned a walk on five pitches to load the bases for Samara Lagway. 

Lagway delivered a two-run single back up the middle to plate both Trahan and George to give the Bobcats an eight-run advantage on the scoreboard. Vanderford followed with her second run-scoring hit of the contest when she singled home Earls from third to make it 9-0, Texas State, in the inning. 

Back-to-back strikeouts halted the rally, though, after Caitlyn Rogers, a day after earning a career-high four hits, drew a walk to load the bases. 

Presley Glende, who entered the pitching circle to start the bottom of the fifth inning following four scoreless innings from Jessica Mullins (11-9) set down Coastal Carolina in order in the bottom fo the sixth to close out the game. 

Texas State will look for its first three-game conference series sweep, since beating UTA during the final regular-season weekend of the 2021 season, when the Bobcats and Chanticleers square off at 10:30 AM CT / 11:30 AM ET on Sunday, March 27. 

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