Texas State building confidence, sweeps Houston series

Sara Vanderford used to think her at-bat was over when she fell behind 0-2 in the count.

As a true freshman who started all 24 games of the 2020 season for Texas State, Vanderford had a solid rookie season with the Bobcats. She posted a .311 on-base percentage and a .433 slugging percentage and drilled in 16 runs, tying junior shortstop Tara Oltmann for second on the team.

But this year, the Pasadena native has grown more confident. Her OPS has nearly doubled to 1.447 and she’s comfortably transitioned to second base without a hiccup — through 13 games this season, Vanderford has just one error. Vanderford leads the team in batting average and slugging percentage. Her 15 RBIs are five more than anyone else on the roster. She’s swung for 13 hits in 30 at-bats, including six doubles and three home runs.

Her most recent homer came during Texas State’s home game against Houston on Sunday. The Cougars had already recorded two outs in the bottom of the first inning at Bobcat Softball stadium when Vanderford stepped up to the plate.

She fell behind in the count 0-2, but battled back. Vanderford fouled her next two pitches, took a ball, then tipped another. She finally found a throw she liked and hit every bit of it. The ball flew over the left field fence and landed near the railroad track next door. Her solo home run helped the maroon and gold defeat Houston, 5-2, and complete a series sweep of the visitors.

“One thing I’ve focused a lot on this year is being able to bounce back and being resilient, like, within myself and with the team, too,” Vanderford said. “I’m just really focused on saying, ‘So what? Just, so what?’ It doesn’t matter. So go to the next pitch, however you can do it. Just move on.”

All of the Bobcats have been finding their confidence as the 2021 season has worn on. The team earned its third win over a Power 5 school last week, splitting a doubleheader with Texas Tech, taking the first game, 6-5, and dropping the second, 7-2.

In Friday’s series opener, true freshman right-handed pitcher Jessica Mullins tossed her second complete shutout, fanning seven batters in a 6-1 victory. Mullins said she feels like she’s starting to settle in at the college level.

“I feel like I’m just really getting into knowing how my body feels whenever I pitch. Like, just adjusting those little things so I can get better and better each pitch,” Mullins said. “Coach (Paige) McDuffee, our pitching coach, she harps on me all the time, 75% on my riseball, 75% on my riseball. And it’s really helped me get underneath the ball, so that I can make it break better and start it at the right point to pull the batter.”

The next day, the team run-ruled the Cougars (7-9) in five innings, 8-0. Vanderford went 1-1 at the plate and drove in three runs. The Bobcats went on to complete the sweep on Sunday. Vanderford was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week on Tuesday for going 7-7 across four games.

Texas State (10-3) has a week’s worth of games left before starting Sun Belt play, starting with Sam Houston State (3-9) on Tuesday and followed by BYU (8-9) at home on Wednesday at 6 p.m. and a home-and-home with UTSA (5-5) on Friday and Saturday.

Head coach Ricci Woodard said she’s been impressed with her team’s start to the season, but wants to see them continue to stay consistent.

“Just the way they approach the game has been fun to watch,” Woodard said. “I’ve got older players that are doing a great job with their leadership and I’ve got younger players that are just playing. You can tell they’re loose and they’ve learned a lot already. So I think it’s gonna be fun to watch them just develop and grow together as a team as this thing goes on.”