Bobcats rally past New Mexico

Four-run sixth leads Texas State past Lobos

By Tyler Mayforth

San Marcos — Texas State didn’t play softball Friday night, it played a waiting game. As the weather got worse, the Bobcats allowed New Mexico enough room to make a mistake. Patience paid off, as Texas State scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, holding onto win 4-3.

Pitching took center stage in the first three innings of the game, as both hurlers traded zeros. For each strikeout Ragan Blake notched, Kelly Ninmire tallied one of her own. Through the first three innings, Blake (10-8) struck out four batters and Ninemire (10-8) whiffed four.

Blake carried a perfect game into the fourth, but it was soon broken up. Her erratic pitching led to a four pitch walk to Samantha Hughes and Lindsay Elcess smoked a single off the wall in center. Gabriella Parra scored Hughes with a sacrifice fly and Katie Gilmore brought home Elcess with a single.

“She had a few spots in there where she didn’t do the things that she needed to do to be successful and they capitalized on it,” Texas State head coach Ricci Woodard said.

The Bobcats (22-11) needed to make something happen and their fourth inning didn’t help at all. Ryan Kos led off with a walk and Alex Newton followed with a single and both runners advanced on Mackenzie Baack’s sacrifice bunt. Leah Boatright attempted a suicide squeeze, but Alex Newton broke early, getting thrown out at second trying to advance.

Baack played well for Texas State, finishing 2 for 2. She singled and recorded her first steal of the year in the second inning. Baack raised her batting average to .345.

“For me it was the same (against Ninemire),” Baack said. “I got the same pitches, so it was pretty much easy to not have to adjust.”

The Bobcats put two runners on in the sixth and the Lobos (15-11) imploded. Newton popped out on a bunt attempt with two runners on, but two consecutive errors allowed Kristina Tello and Kos to tie the game.

Baack launched a double off the center field wall on a 1-0 pitch to keep the inning alive. Woodard inserted Jill Kloesel as a pinch runner and her move paid off. After Lacey Duncan walked, Woodard called for a delayed double steal. When pinch runner Allyce Rother was purposefully caught in a run down, Kloesel wasn’t held at third and broke for home.

“It’s something we work on a lot,” Kloesel said. “But I was waiting for the right time to break. Actually I didn’t think they would play it like that since they threw it to third before, but I knew as soon as she threw it back to first, I would take off.”

Texas State went up 4-2 on Kelsey Cammarata’s RBI double and the insurance run would come in handy. New Mexico scored a run in the seventh on Erin Brandow's single to center, but Blake retired the last battler on a fly out.

“I think (this win) means that we made some adjustments and put the ball in play and made them make some mistakes,” Baack said.