SAN MARCOS, Texas – After rescheduling its three-game series to a Saturday doubleheader, Texas State came out and got two conference wins in its first meeting with Southern Miss since 2006.

Game 1: Texas State 4, Southern Miss 3
It was a day of strikeouts for Tori McCann from the pitcher's mound. Her first came on her second batter, the first of many key outs McCann would throw to preserve the one-run win for her team.
 
The Golden Eagles got on the board first in the second inning after a series of misconstrued throws from the Bobcats helped the Eagles in advancing. Later, in the top of the fourth, Southern Miss got a home run to double their lead.
 
From there, it was comeback time for the Bobcats. After a bases-loaded walk advanced Sara Vanderford home, the Bobcats started their four-run streak.
 
McCann threw two strikeouts in the 5^th inning that changed the momentum of the game for the Bobcats. 
 
Headed into the late innings, McCann knew what she needed to do. 
 
"I knew they'd seen me a couple times," McCann said. "So I just had to remind myself to keep the ball low and just attack and be aggressive."
 
Vanderford hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 5^th that helped Harvey to equalize the game.
 
Two more strikeouts in the top of 6 sat the Bobcats up perfectly to tack on their final two runs. It was a base hit from Claire Ginder that would be good for the 2 RBI needed to close the game out.
 
The Golden Eagles found one more run in the top of the 7^th, but McCann struck out the final batter with a runner one second to ice the game for the Bobcats. She'd tally up 12 strikeouts on the night in the complete game, the most in a single game in her career.

"Tori McCann is throwing the ball lights out right now," said Head Coach Ricci Woodard. "I feel very comfortable when she's in the circle."
 
Game 2: Texas State 4, Southern Miss 2
The Bobcats came out swinging in game two. Piper Randolph got on base as the first batter up, reaching on an error by the Golden Eagle's third baseman. She advanced to third off a bunt from Hannah Earls and ultimately scored when Sara Vanderford singled to right field. After one the Bobcats had a 1-0 lead.
 
Karsen Pierce, a transfer from Southern Miss, started on the mound for the Bobcats. She threw a second-inning strikeout to go three-for-three in the second inning. The Golden Eagles didn't get a second hit off Pierce until the 4^th inning. 
 
In the bottom of the 4^th, the Bobcats took the lead once and for all. After Megan Kelnar and Sydney Harvey got on base, Randolph hit a bomb to right field for the 3 RBI homer. In her first game of the season as a leadoff, she was a part of every run scored for the Bobcats in game two against Southern Miss.
 
"I'm not usually our one hole," Randolph said. "We had to make some adjustments. Seeing some pitches your first go around is important, but once you know what she's throwing and you can expect what she's throwing at you, it's a little easier to have your green light."
 
Randolph's homer was the first of her career as a Bobcat. 
 
In the fifth inning, Jessica Mullins came into pitch.  
 
"I'm a lot more comfortable to play knowing our pitchers have our back," Randolph said about her deep pitching staff. "They're going to go out there and fight for you no matter what."

The Golden Eagles pulled back a run in the 6^th inning off a second home run. It wouldn't be enough, though to get back in the game.
 
To close out the game in the 7^th inning, Mullins threw two strikeouts on her three batters faced. The Bobcats ended the day with two wins after a delayed start to the series.
 
"It's nice to come out of here with two wins," said Woodard. "I don't think we played our best ball by any means, but we found ways to win both ball games."
 
After dealing with postponed games and cancellations to the weekend's series, the Bobcats came out with two wins against a Sun Belt opponent and improve to 25-14-1 on the season, being 6-4-1 in conference play.
 
Up next, the Bobcats host two home midweek games against Sam Houston and #10 Texas inside Bobcat Softball Stadium. Sam Houston comes to town on April 11 at 6 p.m., with #10 Texas on April 12 at 6 p.m.. After that, the Bobcats will head to Lafayette for a weekend series with Louisiana.