By Randy Stevens
Sports Editor
San Marcos — When Texas State started the season with a 5-15 record, those who follow Southland Conference softball were a bit perplexed. After all, the Bobcats, winners of the SLC regular-season and conference tournament titles last season, were unanimous picks to win the Southland again in preseason polls.
Instead, the Bobcats learned from the non-conference losses, many of which were on the road at some pretty prestigious tournaments.
And now that the team is in the midst of league play, the ship seems to be headed in the right direction.
After Wednesday night’s 4-3 upset win over Baylor, the Bobcats are now riding a six-game win streak as the team prepares for a SLC series this weekend at McNeese State. The three-game series begins Saturday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader.
Texas State currently owns a a 6-1 record in Southland play after last weekend’s sweep of Sam Houston State. The weekend before, the Bobcats took two of three games at home against Texas-Arlington.
“There’s a big difference in this ballclub now than the one that we had back in February,” Texas State head coach Ricci Woodard said. “We have the confidence and the ability to close the ball game, which is something we didn’t have early on. We have some experience and growth under us now and it’s starting to pay off.”
That growth was on display Wednesday night in an extra-inning win over No. 22 Baylor. Texas State fell behind 3-2 in the top of the ninth only to come back with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning for the win. Kristina Tello sparked the comeback with an RBI double to left field, while pitcher Chandler Hall helped her own cause by delivering the game-winning bunt that allowed Tello to score from third.
“It was a really exciting win,” said Hall, who fanned 11 hitters in nine innings of work in the circle. “We knew they were a good team, but we’re maturing and we didn’t let that intimidate us at all.”
Hall will get the start in the first game against the Cowgirls, bringing in a 7-5 record with an 2.92 ERA. Hall is also the Bobcats’ second-leading hitter with a .300 batting average and six RBIS.
The Bobcat offense is hitting .261 as a team, currently led by Haley Lemons with a .377 batting average and a team-leading nine RBIs.
McNeese State enters the series with a 13-10 record overall and is 4-2 in SLC play. The Cowgirls split a doubleheader with Louisiana-Lafayette Tuesday night, losing the first game, 9-1, before bouncing back to win the nightcap, 3-1.
