The Super Duo

Jessica Mullins has been one of the best pitchers in Texas State’s history. The senior right-hander was named the 2022 Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year and is a three-time all-conference first team selection. When the day comes, the Tarkington, Texas native will end her Texas State career among the top-five in the program’s record book in several career categories.

Megan Kelnar is a sophomore catcher from nearby Kyle. An outfielder originally in high school, playing for Buda Hays High School, she suffered a serious leg injury during her sophomore season in March 2020. The setback required surgery and occurred a week before the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the pandemic affected the recruiting process for thousands of athletes like her, she eventually worked her way to Texas State’s roster. A full-circle moment for the local product, whose parents graduated from Texas State.

While Kelnar was trying her hardest to get noticed by college coaches, especially legendary Texas State head coach Ricci Woodard, Mullins was already mowing through the Sun Belt Conference. Mullins was the conference’s top pitcher during Kelnar’s senior year of high school.

Yet, despite the difference in age and experience, Mullins and Kelnar have quickly formed a relationship on and off the field that is integral to the success of any softball game.

In softball, the interconnected relationship between a pitcher and catcher is crucial. Having a solid connection and building a trusting relationship not only benefit the individuals involved but also the whole team and their success.

“Having this telepathy between these two players in these roles helps everyone else on the team buy into what we are doing,” said Josh Trevino, Texas State pitching coach. “When a pitcher has a relationship with the catcher it brings a certain kind of intangible to the field.”

Mullins and Kelnar’s first game together was on February 12, 2023 against Wichita State. In an up-and-down opening weekend for Texas State, Mullins made four appearances in the five games. In her last appearance of the weekend, she was staring down towards a new face behind the plate: Kelnar. Mullins, Kelnar and the Bobcats went on to beat the Shockers, 7-4, with Mullins getting the win.

Although the outing was a long one for Mullins – she turned in a complete game but scattered eight hits and four runs on 131 pitches in seven innings – it proved to be a dramatic change for the then-junior. She was working with a true freshman behind the dish and her ERA was sitting at 2.74 – which was nearly an entire run more than her career ERA through the first two weeks of the current season.

The two went on to work together in 26 of Mullins’ final 39 appearances of 2023. It helped Mullins close out the season with a .195 batting average against and 1.84 ERA after the first weekend.

This season, Mullins and Kelnar have started together nine times in Mullins’ 11 appearances. Mullins has started the season 7-1 with a 0.94 ERA, and the Bobcats are 14-4 as a team. The

Mullins-Kelnar pairing is quickly rising to be one of the most important tandems in program history.

One of the greatest pitcher-and-catcher duos for Texas State was twin sisters Randi and Sara Rupp (2015-2018). Randi was an All-American pitcher and two-time Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year who still owns the program’s career record for wins (110), strikeouts (1,270) and appearances (187). Sara was her battery-mate for all four years, although she missed most of 2018 due to injury. She fittingly caught the final out of 2018 regular season, which was a strikeout delivered by Randi.

“They were excellent at what they did, it's just that type of bond that you want to create, you want to create a sisterhood,” said Mullins.

Not all pitcher-and-catcher relationships are as intrinsic as being twin sisters, though. For Mullins and Kelnar, however, they understand how important it is for a pitcher and catcher to be on the same page for the sake of the team’s success.

“You want to know what the other one is thinking without them actually saying it,” said Mullins.

Karsen Pierce, another senior right-hander pitcher for the Bobcats, speaks on how important the pitcher catcher duo is.

“Being able to read each other's body language and knowing the tendencies of the other is super valuable,” said Pierce.

From the art of reading body language in the middle of an outing to having the all-important perspective of if the pitcher has “it” that day, the relationship between the two positions becomes the driver of the game.

“I spend a lot of time observing Jess so I can read her vibe or her mood,” says Kelnar. “We just have so much fun out there.”

Given the two-year age difference, Mullins and Kelnar claim that the bond happened pretty quickly with Mullins initially taking on a big-sister role by showing Kelnar the ropes.

“When I got here, I was the most anxious, nervous, timid person,” said Kelnar. “Jess really brought me out of my shell.”

The girls explain that their bond became engraved when Woodard paired them as roommates on a road trip against Troy early in the 2023 season.

“This just really took our friendship to the next level and made our connection deeper,” Mullins said.

Both Mullins and Kelnar know that no matter how strong of a relationship that a pitcher and catcher have off the field, both individuals have a job they must carry out to benefit the team.

However, Kelnar, as a catcher, believes that the best performers have the solid bond that she and Mullins have currently. Their connection is a big part of their success and has an added benefit to the team.

When Mullins and Kelnar speak about their dynamic, one word keeps coming up: trust. Mullins and Kelnar used this word a lot when describing how they feel on the field. Knowing that they have each other's backs not just in life but on the field is what helps them win.

“You win, I win. This became our motto.” says Mullins.

“I hype Jess up as much as I can, but I also stay out of the spotlight because my job is to just make her look good.”

One way that the two bonded early on was their country roots. Mullins recently invited Kelnar out to her grandma's place in Jacksonville to do some hunting.

While talking about their country roots Mullins says, “You may not be blood but you're still family. It's something really special.”

On top of these two being paired together on away trips and their love for all things country, what really brought them together was being able to host their very own “Meg and Mully camp” this past December.

A name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunity, it was also a time to work together outside of the Bobcat Softball Complex. The two ran a softball camp for kids where Mullins worked with the pitchers and Kelnar taught the catchers. The goal of their camp was to share their knowledge and skills as well as inspire the younger generation of softball players with their close-knit relationship.

“The girls could see our bond,” said Kelnar. “I had them come up and ask me how we became best friends and how we maintain this amazing relationship we have.”

“Other people see (our connection), and we want to give advice and share our story," Mullins added.

Mullins and Kelnar both agree that this is a lifetime bond they have made.

“It upsets me that I won’t see her every day after I graduate, but I know this is a lifelong friendship we have built,” said Mullins, fighting back emotions. “I am so proud of the person Megan has become (so far).”