SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State softball will close out its home stand with a midweek matchup against #20 Baylor on Wednesday inside Bobcat Softball Stadium. The game will start at 6 p.m. and be available to stream on ESPN+.
 
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 conference 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 is in 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.
 
In her junior year, pitcher Jessica Mullins has entered Texas State's all-time top-10 in several career categories.
 
-       4th overall for ERA (1.78),
-       8th for appearances (106)
-       8th for innings pitched (515.0)
-       6th for wins (59)
-       10th for shutouts (11).
-       Mullins is three complete games away from breaking into the top 10 with 39.
 
In addition to Mullins, third baseman Sara Vanderford is also climbing the Texas State career lists. The senior is third in career batting average (.329), 4th in career doubles (44), 4th in career home runs (27), and 5th in career RBI (122).
 
Hannah Earls has made her way into the record book with 56 stolen bases, good to be 3rd on the all-time list. Sophomore Ciara Trahan has made her way into the record books with a .338 batting average in 296 at bats, good for second on the all-time list.
 
The Bobcats head into this week's game with a 20-13-1 record on the season. The team is 19-9 in non-conference competitions this season, including two prior wins against ranked opponents. The Bobcats beat No. 9 Alabama and No. 10 Texas and are undefeated against ranked opponents in the 2023 season.
 
Texas State has a 19-41 record against the Baylor Bears with an 8-15 record at home. The Bobcats have not won in San Marcos since April 12, 2017. 
 
ABOUT THE BEARS:
Baylor comes into the week with a 23-8 record. The Bears will see the UTSA Roadrunners before coming to San Marcos on Wednesday evening. The Bears have just eight losses in the 2023 season, with three of them coming against #7 Oklahoma State. Four of the team's losses have come against nationally ranked opponents.
 
The Bears have six players hitting over the .300 mark this season and two over the .400 mark. Shaylon Govan leads the starters with a .413 batting average. She has 10 runs on 31 hits while sitting at 37 RBI, which is good to be tied for 10^th highest in the nation.
 
Pitching for South Alabama will be Dariana Orme or RyLee Crandall. Orme has 16 starts on 17 appearances with a 1.04 ERA and a 10-3 record on the season. She's pitched eight complete games and allowed just 23 runs. Crandall has 9 starts and 17 appearances with a 2.29 ERA having pitched two complete games this season.
 
The Bears are fifth in the Big XII.

ALL TIME VS SOUTH ALABAMA:
The Bobcats are 19-41 all time against the Bears. Baylor won 3-0 in the team's last meeting on March 16,2022 in San Marcos. Baylor has a one-game win streak currently.
 
Texas State last won on April 14, 2021 in Waco.
 
UP NEXT: The team will return to conference play with a trip to Boone, NC to face App State March 31 to April 2.