SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State softball will open it's 2023 conference play slate with a road series at Troy. The first game will be March 17^th at 5 p.m. (CT) at the Troy Softball Complex. The Bobcats begin conference play with an 18-9 record and ranked No. 25 in the country.
 
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). 
 
In her junior year, pitcher Jessica Mullins has entered Texas State's all-time top-10 in several career categories.
 
-       3rd overall for ERA (1.68),
-       8th for appearances (102)
-       8th for innings pitched (500.0)
-       6th for wins (58)
-       10th for shutouts (11).
-       Mullins is three complete games away from breaking into the top 10 with 39.
 
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 (43), 4th in career home runs (25), and 6th in career RBI (115).
 
Hannah Earls has made her way into the record book with 53 stolen bases, good to be tied for 3rd on the all-time list. Sophomore Ciara Trahan has made her way into the record books with a .341 batting average in 267 at bats, good for second on the all-time list.
 
Head Coach Ricci Woodard brought in nine new members to this years squad, one transfer and eight freshman. The eight freshmen include now-mainstay in the starting lineup Katarina Zarate. Zarate has started in all 27 of the Bobcats games since joining the squad.
 
Joining her are catchers Karmyn Bass who has 19 appearances at catcher, and Megan Kelnar who has 11 starts on 13 appearances at catcher so far. Emilee Baker has joined primarily as a pinch runner/hitter with 15 appearances.
 
In addition to the freshmen, Woodard went to the transfer portal just one time headed into this season and got former Longhorn JJ Smith. Smith played two seasons for Texas where she was voted to the Big-12 All-Freshman team in her first year and helped UT finish second in the College World Series her sophomore year. Since joining the Bobcats, Smith has slid right in at starting first basemen and had a .250 batting average, having seven runs, eight walks and 18 hits in 27 games this season.
 
ABOUT THE TROJANS:
Troy comes into conference play off a high-scoring weekend. The Trojans currently sit with a six-game win streak and scored 40 runs in their last six games. They are now 19-7 on the season and led by first year head coach Eric Newell who comes to Troy after two straight NCAA DII Softball World Series Appearances with Auburn-Montgomery.
 
The Trojans have four players hitting over the .300 mark this season including Taylor McKinney (.384), Anslee Finch (.375), Libby Baker (.361), and Jade Sinness (.300). Taylor McKinney leads nearly every statistic for the Trojans. She has 23 runs from 28 hits, 22 RBI, and 55 total bases. She has also been walked 13 times.
 
Pitching for the Trojans is likely to be Leanna Johnson. She has 18 appearances and 15 starts for the Trojans this season. She has a 0.95 ERA with seven complete games. She's pitched 95 innings, allowing just 66 hits and 23 runs. She has 106 strikeouts so far this season and batters average .195 against her.
 
Troy is currently ranked 4^th in the conference with their 19-7 record.
 
UP NEXT:
The Bobcats will head to San Antonio for a midweek matchup with UTSA on March 22. That game will start at 6 p.m. on Roadrunner Field. Texas State will then return home for their first home series of conference play against South Alabama March 24-26.