SAN MARCOS, TX — To say
Sara Vanderford opened the flood gates — after the infield was tarped for over two hours leading up to Texas State's 8-0 win against UTSA — Tuesday night might just poke meteorologists too much.
Hitting her second home run in as many games and collecting her fifth hit in her last eight plate appearances, Vanderford began a three-run bottom of the second for Texas State by sending a 3-0 pitch over the right-centerfield fence. It was Vanderford's 22nd career home run, which tied the junior third baseman with Rachel Bonetti, Kendall Wiley and
Tara Oltmann for seventh on the program's career home run list.
Claire Ginder kept the momentum going when she sent a 1-0 pitch through the left side for a single.
Tori McCann went on to move Ginder to second and reach first, herself, on a fielding error. Both runners advanced a base on a passed ball before
Piper Randolph was credited with an infield single to load the bases.
Following a fielder's choice off the bat of
Kylie George that left the bases loaded,
Hannah Earls drew a walk on four pitches to score McCann from third.
Ciara Trahan followed with a run-scoring single to the left-centerfield gap to plate Randolph and kept the inning.
The Texas State (25-17) offense revved its engine, again, two innings later when the Bobcats scored five runs on three hits with the big blow coming when
Caitlyn Rogers, who entered the game as a pinch hitter for
Cat Crenek, sent the second pitch she saw over the left-field fence to a pinch-hit three-run home run to score Earls and Trahan.
Earlier in the inning, Trahan recorded her second RBI on the night when she plated George on a single to left field to cap an eight-pitch plate appearance. Randolph, who recorded a multi-hit game following a fourth-inning single to open the frame, began the scoring, too, when the speedy sophomore scored from third on a wild pitch.
The eight-run offensive outburst was more than enough run support for Bobcat starting pitching
Karsen Pierce (6-4), who allowed just three baserunners — with only two advancing as far as second — in the game's five innings.
Following a one-out single through the left side to put runners at first and second in the top of the second, Pierce changed gears and went on to retire the next 11 consecutive Roadrunners. She also finished Tuesday night's game with her second consecutive five-inning complete game shutout in as many starts after doing so against Georgia State on Friday, April 15.
"For Karsen to be able to come out and do what she did tonight, that was great," said Texas State softball head coach
Ricci Woodard. "Vanderford attacking a 3-0 pitch and hitting it out of the yard … taking a freshman with two hits on the ballgame and then you put in the pinch hitter and get the big three-run home run … everything was just clicking on all cylinders tonight."
Texas State will now turn around in less than 24 hours to play, again, when the Bobcats face UIW at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20.
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