Feb. 27, 2008
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
SAN MARCOS, Texas - Texas State completed a three game sweep of UT Arlington softball with a pair of extra inning wins today in Southland Conference action at Bobcat Field. The Mavs dropped the first game 11-9 in eight innings and fell 6-5 in the night cap.
UTA falls to 3-9 on the season and 0-3 in Southland Conference action, while the Bobcats improve to 9-9 and 3-0 on the season.
Game one started with the Bobcats building a 4-0 lead after two innings as Alex Newton connected for a two-run homer in the first before an RBI single by Kristina Tello and a bases-loaded walk to Ryan Kos doubled Texas State's lead.
UTA came back in the fourth to score five runs. Brittany Washington hit a two-run home run to put the Mavericks on the board, and a two-out rally capped by April Clougherty's two-run single plated three more runs to give UTA a 5-4 lead.
Leah Boatright hit an RBI single to tie the game at 5-5 in the bottom half of the inning, but the Mavericks answered with a pair of runs in the fifth to take a 7-5 lead. Texas State matched it on a Kos two-run double in bottom of the inning before Jetta Weinheimer's two-run homer in the sixth positioned the Bobcats for a 9-7 win.
The lead would not hold when UTA's first four batters reached, loading the bases with nobody out and pushing across a run to cut the lead to 9-8. Ragan Blake, who had started the game for the Bobcats, re-entered and retired the next two hitters before Clougherty walked, forcing the tying run home. Blake recovered to strike out Kristin Moore to end the inning and leave three Mavericks stranded, setting the stage for Boatright.
Newton led off the inning with a single, and with one out Boatright blasted her game-winning homer over the wall in left center for the win.
The second half of the twin bill mirrored the first as Texas State led 5-2 after three. Washington was responsible for both of UTA's runs, reaching on an error before scoring on a bases-loaded walk in the first and hitting an RBI single up the middle in the second.
Texas State got their early offense from Newton, who hit an RBI single in the first before lining a shot to dead center off the bottom of the wall in the second for a three-run triple. Kos also had her second walk of the day with the bases jammed.
UTA once again rallied back in the middle innings, scoring twice in the fourth on Cara Hulme's lead-off solo homer followed by three-straight singles. Blake worked out of a jam with two strikeouts, but Whitney Simpson tied the game an inning later with a solo homer to left center.
Both teams had chances to break the tie in the next three innings, but the Mavericks stranded runners in scoring position three times while the Bobcats did the same twice.
Texas State finally broke through in the ninth when Tello led off with a single and advanced to second on a walk to Kos. Hulme, who went the distance in game two in the circle for UTA, struck out Newton and Ali McCormack but then gave up the line drive double to the gap in left off Boatright's bat to complete Texas State's sweep.
Blake (3-6) earned both wins despite giving up six earned runs in 11.1 innings over both games. She also finished the day with 12 strikeouts while allowing 10 hits and walking five. Katie Garnett started game two and ended the day with five earned runs on nine hits with three strikeouts in 4.2 innings while Libby Dennis also pitched an inning in game one, allowing two runs on four hits.
Laura Jones (1-5), who lost the series opener, also took the loss in game two in a relief appearance. Jones pitched two innings, striking out three while allowing two hits. Cassandra Nordie started game one of the doubleheader for UTA and lasted 1.1 innings, allowing four earned runs on five hits, while Heather Fortenberry gave up five earned runs on six hits and four walks in four innings of relief.
Hulme (0-2) took the loss for the Mavericks in game two after pitching 8.2 innings and giving up 10 hits while walking four. She also struck out 10 batters, and two of her six runs were earned.
UTA will now try to rebound from the mid-week series as it heads into the weekend when the Mavericks head to Nicholls State for a three-game series that begins with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m.
