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Texas State Sweep Clinches SLC Tourney Spot
May 5, 2007
CORPUS CHRISTI - A pair of late-inning explosions gave the Bobcat softball team a sweep over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi with 3-2 and 8-3 wins, while Northwestern State's loss to Sam Houston State clinched an SLC Tournament spot for Texas State. The Bobcats (28-24, 17-12) entered the weekend against the Islanders (12-37, 5-24) in control of their own destiny due to a tiebreaker over NSU, but the Lady Demons loss at SHSU coupled with Texas State's sweep locked up one of the six SLC Tournament spots. In game one, Bobcat bats came alive after failing to record a hit through the first five innings, as the `Cats fell behind 1-0. After a Tamara Keller single and a walk to Amy Krueger, Tello singled up the middle to tie the game. An Islander error then scored Krueger, and Texas State added its third run on a squeeze bunt by Haley Koop. With the score 3-1, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi tried to rally in the bottom of the seventh after the first two hitters reached. A sacrifice put the tying run at third base, and the Islanders cut the lead to one on an RBI single. The Bobcats looked in trouble when a hard single to center appeared to tie the game, but a great throw from Tello in center caught pinch runner Holly Kellogg in between bases, and she was thrown out at third base for a huge second out. Ragan Blake then struck out Stephanie Estrada to end the game and give the `Cats a 3-2 win. Blake improved to 22-13 with the win, pitching seven innings and allowing one earned run on six hits, while A&M-CC's Jennifer Cummings fell to 9-26 despite allowing only two runs on two hits. Texas State jumped out to an early lead in game two, leading 3-0 after two innings, but the Islanders came back in the third. An error and a walk brought the tying run to the plate, and the bases then loaded when Alex Newton, on appeal, was ruled to have missed second base on a fielder's choice that would have been the second out of the inning. Andrea Gonzalez then delivered a three-run triple to the gap in right field to tie the game 3-3.
The Bobcats took back the lead for good in the fifth, putting up five runs thanks to some miscues by the A&M-CC defense in fielding bunts. It started with Leah Boatright beating out a bunt for a single and Karen Taylor alertly moving to third on the play when nobody covered third base. A wild pitch moved Boatright to second, and Newton followed with an RBI single to make it 4-3. Texas State then executed back-to-back squeeze bunts to plate two runners while both batters were able to reach second on the plays due to the Islander defense failing to cover the base. Another error loaded the bases before Cummings came on in relief and walked two batters to force in two more runs that made it 8-3. Bobcat starter Elizabeth Dennis avoided any further damage to secure the win in her first career start, improving to 2-0. She pitched her first complete game and allowed two earned runs on seven hits. Andrea Simancas took the loss for the Islanders, giving up three earned runs in 1.2 innings of relief work. Seven different Bobcats recorded an RBI on the day, with Tello scoring and driving in a run in each game. Taylor went 3-for-4 with two runs scored in game two to pace the offense. Texas State can still finish as high as fourth in the final standings, depending on the outcomes of McNeese State's series against UTSA and Nicholls State's series at Texas-Arlington. The Bobcats conclude their 2007 regular season Sunday, May 6, in Corpus Christi beginning at noon. |
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