Rother Plays the Hero Again; Bobcats Play for SLC Crown

Alyce Rother rocked her second home run in as many days to roll the Bobcats through a hard fought game and into the SLC Tournament Championship, Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

The match-up was crucial for both teams requiring the winner to win one game in the Championship to take home the SLC Crown. The winner of the tournament gets an automatic bid into an NCAA regional. The loser must win three straight to take the title.

Rother's first at bat in the second was agressive, swinging hard through several fastballs inside, fouling a few off. She skied one to center for a long fly out in that AB, but in the bottom of the fifth, she took a hanging curveball and neatly placed it between the left field foul pole and the scoreboard behind the left field wall to grab the lead 1-0. The Bobcat sophomore left fielder leads the tournament with two longballs, her only two of the 2009 season. Initially, there was doubt as to whether or not the ball would play fair or foul, with the wind blowing mildly to left. Off the bat, it tailed toward the line, but straightened out and Cowgirl left fielder Claire Terracina had to watch it go as the game's only RBI for either team. It truly was a pitcher's duel as only four other Bobcats had base hits on the day.

Bethany Stefinski started for tournament host McNeese State and came out strong, striking out six. Stefinsky sits two strikeouts shy of McNeese State's all-time career strikeout record of 286 headed into tomorrow's matchup with Sam Houston State. With today's loss her record falls to 20-15.

Bobcat starter Chandler Hall was shaky for the majority of the game from what seemed to be just nerves. She won Thursday's affair against Stephen F. Austin in another inconsistent effort, and Friday, Hall seemed to be unable to find the zone. Still, Hall gave up but three hits, walking two. An intense competitor who doesn't show much emotion, she induced several fly outs, pop outs and ground outs in key situations, many times with a runner at second or third with fewer than two outs. Getting out these jams left five Cowgirls stranded on the bags, thanks to the same game plan as game one. For both of starts, she's stayed away from right handers with the fastball and inside to the same with a change up or curveball that disappears from hitters. Her drop ball to lefties got some knees to buckle. More Cowgirls went fishing for balls out of the zone tha the SFA Lady 'Jacks the day before. Two of the last three batters Hall faced went down on strike outs to round out a tally of seven on the day. Nonetheless, her usual dominance just hasn't been at the ballpark during the trip, even with her perfect 2-0 tournament record. Still, she's a freshman without a loss over the weekend. Give her time and she's sure to bring some hardware back to San Marcos.

McNeese State's fans were loud. Louder than any of the Bobcat fans had been until the fifth inning (thanks to Rother's dinger). And about half of the Cowgirl players were antsy at the plate. Compare that to the Bobcat's smooth demeanor, the calm nerves might equate to the final 1-0 score. But don't take anything away from this ball club -- the line up packs a tremendous punch, and the Cowgirls are still in the tournament from the loser's bracket. They play Sam Houston State Saturday morning at eleven o'clock after Sam Houston eliminated UT-San Antonio with a 4-1 win, and the winner of the McNeese/Sam Houston match-up will have to beat Texas State twice to win the championship.

The first pitch at 1:30 p.m. airs live on 89.9 FM KTSW and also on TxStateBobcats.com. Pregame begins at 1:15 and live video is available at Southland.org.

- Mason Robinson, KTSW Sports Staff Writer