SAN MARCOS ? Texas State-San Marcos completed a three-game sweep of a Southland Conference softball series with Sam Houston State with a 9-1 five-inning run-rule victory over the Bearkats Sunday afternoon.
The series sweep upped the Bobcats' season record to 33-16 for the season. Texas State-San Marcos stands in first place in the Southland Conference softball race with a 22-4 league record.
Sam Houston fell to 29-28 for the year and 14-13 in SLC action. The Bearkats currently rank fifth in the league standings.
Bobcat pitcher Regan Blake continued her domination of the Bearkats. Saturday, Blake pitched two complete games, allowing Sam Houston only six hits in her 14 innings of work while striking out 12 batters. Sunday she gave up just three hits.
Texas State-San Marcos jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and added six more in the bottom of the third. Morgan Mikulin and Brandi Crnkovic each pitched two innings for Sam Houston.
The Bearkats scored their only run in the top of the fifth inning as Casie Everitt singled and later scored on a ground out by Amanda Lindsey.
The Bearkats will play host to Texas-San Antonio next weekend in the final regular season SLC series of 2008.
The 2008 Southland Conference post-season tournament begins May 8. The tournament will be hosted by Texas State-San Marcos.
Crnkovic pitched a complete game in the first contest. Morgan Mikulin drew the loss in the second contest. Bearkat pitching allowed the Bobcats 11 hits in the two games.
A run in the bottom of the first inning was enough for a Bobcat victory in the first gaem. The Bobcats scored as Kristina Tello led off with a single, was sacrificed to second, moved to third on a ground out and scored on a single by Leah Boatright.
Hailey Wiginton, Tanya Hooser, and Alex Survant all hit singles but no Bearkat base runner got farther than first base in the first six innings. Morgan Mikulin doubled in the top of the seventh, but the Kats could not get the run across.
Sam Houston took an early 1-0 lead as Tanya Hooser hit a solo home run in the top of the first inning. But Alex Newton slapped a run-scoring double to tie the contest in the bottom of the first.
McKenzie Baack hit a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning for the game winner.
Sam Houston State and Texas State-San Marcos will meet in the third and final game of the softball series Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. The Bearkats will play host to Texas-San Antonio next weekend in the final regular season SLC series of 2008.
The 2008 Southland Conference post-season tournament begins May 8. The tournament will be hosted by Texas State-San Marcos.
