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Bobcats Blast Past No. 19 Texas, 3-0
April 18, 2007 AUSTIN - A pair of home runs in the top of the fifth inning provided enough offense behind a one-hit performance by Ragan Blake as Texas State upset No. 19 Texas 3-0 in Austin on Wednesday. Jetta Weinheimer lined a solo shot over the left field wall for the first run in the fifth inning, and Ryan Kos followed a Tamara Keller single with two outs with a towering blast down the left field line off of Longhorn reliever Torrey Schroeder. Blake had her lowest strikeout total of the year with only one punch out, but had a no-hitter going after six innings until Megan Willis broke it up with a single that a diving Kos couldn't stop. Texas State improved to 24-19 on the season while Texas dropped to 28-14, losing its fourth consecutive game. Individually, Blake moved to 18-10 while Schroeder suffered her first loss to move to 2-1. The `Cats looked like they'd have an opportunity off starter Meagan Denny in the opening frame, getting runners at first and second with two outs, but failed to bring anything across. Texas had a similar situation in the early going, but couldn't break the scoreless tie either as both starters dueled for three innings. Denny was lifted for Schroeder in the fourth, and the freshman had a solid inning before running into trouble in the fifth. She finished with a line of 1.2 innings pitched with three earned runs and one strikeout. In the seventh, Willis had a 1-2 count before breaking up the no-hit bid with her single, and pinch runner Brittany Reliford moved to second on a walk to Kacie Gaskin with one out. Jacqueline Williams then skied a pop fly to right center field, and it looked like it might fall in for a hit until Amy Krueger came running in to make a basket catch from her knees.
It appeared Reliford moved safely to third on the play, but was called out for leaving early as Alex Newton stepped on second for the final out. Longhorn head coach Connie Clark protested the call, but the call stood. The win marked Texas State's first over a ranked team this season, and the Bobcats have now won six of their last seven games. The shutout by Blake was her SLC-leading eighth and lowered her ERA to another SLC best at 1.58. A weekend series at Sam Houston State will resume the Bobcats' schedule. Sam Houston is currently third in the SLC. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday before holding the series finale on Sunday. |
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