SAN MARCOS, TX — Caitlyn Rogers doesn't consider herself a home run hitter, but the senior catcher's fourth home run of the 2022 season pushed Texas State in front of Georgia State Thursday night and eventually the Bobcats' 22nd win on the season.
"We finally got the big hit," Texas State softball head coach
Ricci Woodard said. "We aren't swinging the bats really well right now, so we just have to continue to find ways to come up with the key hits when we need them. It would be nice if we were putting up eight or nine runs (a game), but that's not what we are doing right now so we have to keep working and battling."
Texas State (22-17, 8-8) found itself behind the eight ball early after Georgia State (16-21, 6-7) scored a pair of runs in the top of the second on a Gabby Benson single to left field that scored Sophie Mooney from third and Carolyn Deady from second after the ball took a tricky hop on the outfield grass.
In the bottom half of the frame, the Bobcats attempted to respond as the first three batters —
Anna Jones, Rogers and
Cat Crenek — all reached base. After Jones was erased on a fielder's choice,
Tori McCann drew an eight-pitch walk to load the bases with two away. But Texas State was unable to find that timely hit to bring home a run.
Following a quick three-up, three-down top of the third from
Jessica Mullins (15-11), it was
time for the Texas State offense.
Hannah Earls and
Ciara Trahan opened the frame with back-to-back singles, before
Sara Vanderford advanced both on a groundout to the left side of the diamond. A passed ball on the third pitch to Jones allowed Earls to score from third and move Trahan, representing the game-tying run, to third.
After Jones recorded the inning's second out, Rogers stepped in the box. She fouled away the first pitch from Georgia State's Hallie Adams (4-8), before watching the next pitch sail out of the strike zone.
Then everything changed.
Rogers sent the next pitch flying over the left-centerfield wall for a two-out, two-run home run pushing Texas State ahead 3-2. It was her first home run since her career-best 4-for-4 performance at Coastal Carolina on March 25, 2022.
"I was just up at the plate trying to be aggressively, honestly," Rogers said. "I wanted to drive the ball back up the middle. I'm never trying to hit home runs because I'm not a home run hitter, so I'm just always trying to get a base hit back up the middle."
Texas State now moves to 4-0 in 2022 and 5-0 all time in games featuring a Rogers home run as Mullins did not allow a baserunner past second base over the game's remaining four innings after the Bobcats took the lead.
Texas State will look for its first Sun Belt series win since its three-game sweep of Coastal Carolina (March 25-27, 2022) when the Bobcats return to Bobcat Stadium on Friday, April 15 to play Georgia State at 2 p.m. CT.
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