Texas State split the first two games in its three-game series against UT Arlington.
The Bobcats rallied to defeat the Mavericks, 5-2, on Thursday. But UTA evened the series with a 4-1 win on Friday.
Thursday’s Game:
The Mavericks jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning after junior first base Aileen Garcia hit a two-out RBI single into left field.
Texas State answered in the fourth inning when junior second base Bailee Carter hit an RBI double to even the score.
But UTA responded in the bottom frame with a home run by junior left fielder Melanie Mendoza to regain the lead at 2-1.
The Bobcats, however, staged a seventh-inning rally. Junior third base Hailey MacKay hit a leadoff solo homer to tie the game. Texas State loaded the bases for freshman pinch hitter Cassie Valdez, who hit a bases-clearing RBI double to hand the Bobcats a 5-2 advantage.
The Mavericks couldn’t answer in the bottom frame and Texas State secured the series-opening victory.
Junior pitcher Dalilah Barrera tallied the win in the circle in relief. She pitched the last three innings and only gave up two hits. She struck out three and only allowed one walk.
Carter led Texas State with two hits and an RBI.
Friday’s Game:
Both teams traded runs in the first inning. Texas State (28-22, 16-9 Sun Belt) brought home the first run of the game when a double steal allowed senior left fielder Mari Cranek to score. UTA (28-24, 16-10) tied the score with an RBI single from Garcia.
The Mavericks gained the lead at 2-1 in the fourth inning when Garcia hit a sacrifice-fly.
Junior shortstop Whitney Walton hit a leadoff solo home run in the fifth inning to push the UTA advantage to 3-1. Junior catcher Reagan Wright hit a sac-fly to put the Mavericks on top 4-1.
Texas State looked poised to stage another seventh-inning rally. But the game ended with a line-drive double play.
Barrera was handed the loss in the circle. She pitched four innings and allowed the first three UTA runs. She tallied two strikeouts and one walk.
Carter paced the Bobcats when she reached base twice during Friday’s game. Texas State’s offense struggled with runners on base. The Bobcats went 1-for-10 at the plate on Friday with runners on, and 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Texas State is now 0-11 when only scoring one or fewer runs this season.
Texas State and UTA played their series finale and regular-season finale on Saturday. The game ended after press time.
