Bobcats shut out rival Sam Houston State in blowout win

Texas State rolled in their opener at the TXST Tournament as the Bobcats dominated former conference rival the Sam Houston State Bearkats 10-0.

The Bobcats jumped on the Bearkats from the start as Texas State scored five runs in the bottom of the first, sparked on a two-run RBI triple by sophomore designated player Karmyn Bass who noted Texas State’s need to strike early and hard.

“Just bouncing back after two or three days of practice,” Bass said. “Knowing we still needed to stay disciplined, we still needed to do the same thing going up to the plate. I think if we stick to our plan we can score a lot of runs like we did tonight.”

The damage from Texas State didn’t stop in the first inning as right fielder Anna Jones scored Bass from second on a fielder’s choice to put the Bobcats up 3-0.

After third baseman Sara Vanderford hit a one out double down the left field line, second baseman Katarina Zarate extended the lead with a two-run home run into left field to make it a 5-0 game.

Despite the team’s 5-1 start over the Texas State Tournament, Head Coach Ricci Woodard saw the need for the Bobcats to pounce on their opponents early after Texas State needed to come from behind wins last weekend to have their current record.

“That’s the key to our success right there,” Woodard said. “We changed the way we approached the game from the start. Coming out aggressive early. If we can do that all weekend, we’ll put ourselves in a pretty good spot.”

Center fielder Sidney Harvey kept up the attack in the second inning with a lead-off triple.

Despite the next two batters hitting into outs, the Bobcats scored again as Bass scored Harvey on a single into right field to put Texas State ahead 6-0.

Though Texas State was kept off the bases in the third inning, the Bobcats swung back with vengeance in the fourth.

Sophomore catcher Megan Kelnar kicked off the inning with a lead-off home run, her first in a Bobcat uniform.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Kelnar said. “Knowing that all my hard work paid off in a way that I have never done before. I put in a lot of hard work with Coach Scott [Woodard]. I might have run the bases a little too fast because I was shocked to see it bounce over.”

Seeing Kelnar’s work ethic, Woodard knew it was a matter of time before the sophomore catcher would see the ball hit over the fence.

“It’s more than just that,” Woodard said. “She is someone who works at it every single day. She is a hard worker and puts in the extra time. You always want to see that be paid off for athletes who are doing what you preach. It’s not a big surprise but a nice surprise.

The Bobcats faced two outs with runners on second and first as the Bearkats looked to keep Texas State from reaching the run rule with the ‘Cats leading 7-0.

Jones extended the inning for Texas State hitting a two-run RBI double into left field to score both runners as the Bobcats went up 9-0.

Vanderford put the final touches of the inning with an RBI double down the left field line to make it a 10-0 game heading into the fifth inning.

On the defensive side of the ball, Texas State made life difficult for the Sam Houston offense.

Starting pitcher Jessica Mullins completed four innings while allowing just one hit, zero runs, zero walks and striking out four batters.

With the Bobcats up 10-0 entering the fifth inning with an opportunity to end the game early, pitcher Presley Glende relieved Mullins to close out.

Despite allowing a hit, Glende shut out the Bearkats getting the final three outs to seal the dominant 10-0 win over Sam Houston.

The Texas State pitching rotation continues to be a strong point for the Bobcats who have allowed an average of 2.1 runs per game through seven contest.

“I thought Jessica Mullins threw a heck of a game,” Woodard said. “She is working on a couple of things we talked about. She hit some really good spots during that game. That pitching staff might be the strongest pitching staff I have ever had.”

Texas State returns to play Friday before press time.

The Bobcats will have two more games on Saturday with showdowns with both Texas Tech and Tulsa before a Sunday game against Texas Tech again at 2 p.m. to close out the TXST Tournament.

cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc