SAN MARCOS, Texas – As a final tune-up for conference play, Texas State softball returns home after a big weekend for a midweek doubleheader with Texas Tech. The games will start at 2 and 4 pm inside Bobcat Softball Stadium.
After this midweek doubleheader, the Bobcats will head back out on the road for the conference-opening series with Troy.
ABOUT THE BOBCATS:
Texas State, which is coming off a 38-win campaign and narrowly missing an NCAA Regional as an at-large bid, was picked second in the Sun Belt coaches preseason poll. The Bobcats have finished in the conference's top three in the standings for three straight years, but the league has grown this year with three new teams: James Madison, Marshall, and Southern Miss.
The Bobcats returns 12 players (11 letterwinners) from last year's team, including former All-Sun Belt players
Jessica Mullins (pitcher),
Sara Vanderford (third base),
Ciara Trahan (outfield) and
Hannah Earls (shortstop). The Bobcats also return position players
Claire Ginder, who played in all but one game last year,
Anna Jones (52 games) and
Piper Randolph (43 games). Offensively, the Bobcats return 61 percent of their RBI from last year (146 out of 238).
In the circle, the Bobcats return Mullins,
Karsen Pierce (26 appearances, 13 starts),
Presley Glende (17 appearances, 3 starts) and
Tori McCann (7 appearances, 2 starts). Texas State returns 98 percent of its innings pitched from last season.
Head coach
Ricci Woodard will enter her 23rd season at the helm of Texas State softball. With 12 conference championships and 9 NCAA Regional appearances, Woodard enters the season with 762 career wins. Woodard is 28th among active Division I coaches in career wins, and she has a shot this season to join the group of 26 active Division I head coaches with 800 career wins. Among the top-30 NCAA Division I head coaches in terms of career wins, Woodard is one of only 13 coaches to accumulate their wins at one school. Others: Patty Gasso (Oklahoma), Jana McGinnis (Jacksonville State), Holly Hesse (Missouri State), Fran Troyan (Lehigh), Mary Ellen-Hall (Houston Christian), Jane Worthington (Eastern Kentucky), Deanna Gumpf (Notre Dame), Patti Gerckens (UC San Diego), Brian Kolze (Pacific), Chris Cannata (Albany), Gordon Eakin (BYU) and Lisa Costello (Towson).
Only entering her junior year, pitcher
Jessica Mullins has entered Texas State's all-time top-10 in several career categories.
- 3rd in career ERA (1.66)
- 6th in career wins (58)
- 5th in career strikeouts (504)
- 8th in career appearances (101)
- 8th in innings pitched (493.0)
- T10 in shutouts (11)
Mullins was named the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Preseason Awards pick for Pitcher of the Year. So far as a Bobcat Mullins has been named Sunbelt Pitcher of the Week six times. In Texas State's 3-1 win over Alabama on March 11, Mullins made her 100
thcareer appearance for the Bobcats, just one of three active members on the team with 100+ appearances.
In addition to Mullins, third baseman
Sara Vanderford is also climbing the Texas State career lists. The senior is third in career batting average (.325), tied for 4th in career doubles (42), 4th in career home runs (25), and 6th in career RBI (113).
Hannah Earls has also made her way into the record book with 51 stolen bases, good to be tied for 5th on the all-time list. Sophomore
Ciara Trahan has made her way into the record books as well with a .341 batting average in 267 at bats, good for second on the all-time list.
Headed into this week's game, Texas State broke into the top-25 national rankings being ranked No. 25 by D1 Softball.
ABOUT THE RED RAIDERS:
Texas Tech comes to San Marcos off a high-scoring weekend. The Red Raiders currently sit with a five-game win streak and scored 57 runs in their last five games. They are now 20-7 on the season and led by first year head coach Craig Snider who comes to Texas Tech after spending two years at Texas A&M.
The Red Raiders are ranked nationally for doubles. The Bobcats have allowed just 18 doubles this year, but Texas Tech has had 60 doubles on the year.
Pitch by committee is the name of the game for the Red Raiders. They have eight pitchers, all of whom have no more than seven starts apiece. Sage Hoover has 15 appearances on six starts with three complete games allowing 42 hits and 22 runs through 56 innings pitched. Additionally, Kendall Fritz had seven starts in 14 appearances with one complete game allowing 42 hits and 20 runs through 39 innings pitched.
Kailey Wyckoff leads the Red Raiders with a.486 batting average, .919 slugging. She has scored 28 runs on 37 hits and 25 RBI. She leads the team in doubles (10), triples (4), home runs (6), total bases (68) and walks (10).
The Red Raiders are currently ranked 5
th in the Big 12.
GAME INFORMATION:
TXST vs Texas Tech - 2 & 4 p.m.
Bobcat Softball Stadium
Tickets: https://bit.ly/3YLkcH8
