HOUSTON– Texas State softball heads on the road for the first time in over a month starting with two midweek games, one at Houston and one at Lamar.
 
The first game of the week at Houston will be Tuesday, March 17 at 6 pm. The team will then head to Beaumont for the game at Lamar on March 18 at 6 pm. Both will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
ABOUT THE BOBCATS:
Texas State is coming off a 34-19 campaign which included a Sun Belt Conference Regular Season Championship and were named Preseason Favorites in the Sun Belt Conference Coaches Poll. Texas State returns 96.8% of its innings pitched and 75.5% of its at-bats from the 2025, championship winning season.

Texas State returns 16 players from last year's team, including pitchers Maddy Azua, Emma Strood, Analisa Soliz and Abigail Jennings as well as field players Megan Kelnar, Karmyn Bass, Sydney Harvey, Keely Williams, Aiyana Coleman, Kate Bubela, Kat Zarate, Bailee Slack, Mel Reeves, Abby Garza, Emily Fishand Mayson Garrett.

Head coach Ricci Woodard is in her 26th season at the helm of Texas State softball. In her tenure, Woodard has 14 conference championships and 11 NCAA Regional appearances, and enters the weekend with 896 career wins.

Headed into the week, Texas State has a 19-8 record and are ranked in the D1 Softball Mid Major poll at #2, and by Softball America's Mid Major Poll at #3. The team is coming off a 3-1 week with wins over Sam Houston and two of the three games in a series with ULM to start Sun Belt play.

Currently leading the batting order for the Bobcats is Williams who's hitting .420 this season, followed closely by Coleman at .418. They are two of five Bobcats hitting over .300 this season. In addition to them it is Kate Bubela (.361), Harley Vestal (.324) and Karmyn Bass (.321).

In the circle for the Bobcats is a 1-2 punch from Maddy Azua and Emma Strood. The pair boast two of the top ERAs in the Sun Belt, with Maddy Azua being a top-6 strikeout pitcher in the nation. Azua has a 1.92 ERA in 102.1 innings while Strood has a 2.24 in 43.2.
 
ABOUT THE COUGARS:
Houston comes into the week with a 17-12 record on the season, coming off two losses to Kansas. 
 
The Cougars have four batters batting above .300 this season, highlighted by Maddie Hartley at the top of their order, hitting .380. Madox Mitchael (.321), Ariel Redmond (.304) and Makenna Mitchell (.302) round out the top of the order.
 
The majority of the innings are pitched by Nevaeh Brown for the Cougars. She has a 3.33 ERA in 82.0 innings of work so far this season. 


ABOUT THE CARDINALS:
Lamar comes into the week with a 13-15 record on the season, coming off two wins against Stephen F Austin. 
 
The Cardinals have three batters batting above .300 this season, highlighted by Isabella Flores who's batting .357 with 30 hits, 16 runs and 22 RBI. Cala Wilson (.314) and Ariel Flores (.308) are their other .300 hitters.
 
The Cardinals split time between three pitchers, their most effective being Kaylee Cuevas who has a 4.11 ERA in 44.1 innings. She's followed by Reagan Smith at 4.52 in 43.1 innings.

LAST TIME THEY MET
Houston
All-time series: Texas State trails 14-17
Last meeting: Feb. 20, 2022, Texas State won 8-2
All time in Houston: Texas State trails 6-9

Lamar
All-time series: Texas State leads 10-3
Last meeting: Feb. 16, 2023, Texas State won 9-0
All time in Beaumont: Series is tied 1-1