Rupp tallies 100th career win as Bobcats down Longhorns, 2-1
In a moment of pure pandemonium in front of a record-setting crowd of 1,402 inside Bobcat Softball Stadium, Texas State senior pitcher Randi Rupp hugged sophomore catcher Haleigh Davis.
Rupp closed out a 2-1 win over Texas and notched her 100th career win with the Bobcats on Wednesday.
“It’s all surreal,” said Rupp, who tallied nine strikeouts in the win over the Longhorns. “My time at Texas State has been everything. It’s been amazing. I’ve enjoyed the journey here, and that’s just another milestone that I’ve gotten to receive. It just shows the hard work out there that I’m putting in and it’s paying off for me. It’s good to see.”
But picking up her 100th win didn’t come easy in the top of the seventh. Clinging to a 2-1 lead, Rupp gave up a leadoff single to junior right fielder Bekah Alcozer. Texas sophomore first base Malory Schattle hit a oneout single, and junior center fielder Ki’Audra Hayter drew a two-out walk to load the bases for the Longhorns.
Rupp, however, forced freshman second base Janae Jefferson to fly out to secure the win for Texas State.
Rupp, who tries to remain stoic in the circle, allowed herself to celebrate the victory when junior left fielder Mari Cranek caught Jefferson’s game-ending fly out.
“As soon as the ball was hit, I knew that Mari was going to catch it out there, and it’s exciting,” Rupp said. “It’s exciting to get wins like that, and I think that our team did a great job throughout the whole game. They did good, and it’s a big win for us.”
Head coach Ricci Woodard, who admittingly didn’t realize Rupp picked up her 100th win following the exciting victory over Texas, said there’s no one like Rupp.
“When you’ve got Randi Rupp in the circle, you’ve got a chance to beat anyone in the country, and I keep telling these guys that,” Woodard said. “I think if they ever really fully believe me, this team is going to be unbelievably good. But Randi Rupp is as good as they come. I think I’ve only had one other pitcher that’s ever hit 100 (wins), and Randi’s not done.”
Texas (23-15, 6-0 Big 12), which defeated the Bobcats 3-0 in Austin on March 21, scored first against No. 24 Texas State (30-8, 11-0 Sun Belt) with a solo home run by Alcozer in the second inning.
But the Bobcats evened the game at 1-1 when Cranek was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Wednesday’s contest went into a stalemate until Texas State took the lead when freshman Brianna Sannem, who pinch hit for Jaclyn Molenaar, knocked a bases loaded sac-fly to give the Bobcats the 2-1 lead.
“Bri, you always know you’re going to get a quality at-bat out of Bri when she’s at the plate,” Woodard said. “And so, I was like, ‘This is the time to let’s see what she’s got.’ You know, she’s probably not going to get cheated, and I also knew she wasn’t going to go down like she did at Texas to finish the last game. So, I knew she was going to go up there and swing the bat. So, to have that kid be able to do that at a time like this, she’s a special ball player.”
Despite the bases loaded jam in the top of the seventh, Rupp and the Bobcats escaped with the win.
“I struggled with locating some of my pitches (Wednesday),” Rupp said. “And so, I just went out there and just said, ‘Relax and just throw the ball. Have fun and want to be in those moments,’ because that was probably the most fun I’ve had in a long time. I enjoyed it, and even though some things didn’t go my way, I was still able to refocus and just throw one pitch at a time.”
