With a respectable amount of wins against a historically strong University of Houston Cougars program, the Bobcats had nothing to fear on Wednesday night in San Marcos. Overall the Bobcats were only down 7-5 in the all-time series between these two teams. Also worth mentioning was the road record for the Cougars. Up to Wednesday night's game at Texas State, U of H had not won on the road in the entire 2010 season. However, a slumping Bobcat batting lineup crushed all hopes of statistical goodwill, as Houston held on for a 3-0 win in nine innings of play in San Marcos.
The game got underway at 6 pm with a turnout of almost 500 loyal Bobcat and Cougar fans. The stadium was flowing with a pink glow to support Breast Cancer awareness. Even the team showed their support by wearing a pink t-shirt with the cancer ribbon on the front. Taking the circle for the Bobcats was sophomore Chandler Hall and her golden right arm. Hall came into the game leading the Bobcats in just about every stat worth following. She sat at 176 strikeouts on the season and added four more to her resume on the night. Taking the circle for the Cougars was freshman ace Bailey Watts. Perhaps in an attempt to upstate Hall, Watts pitched one of the most dominating performances against Texas State so far by any team this season. She pitched 9 full innings of play, fanning nine batters and secured a shutout giving up only five hits. The struggling bats of the Bobcats continued to hurt the team's cause as star players such as Leah Boatright and Anna Hernandez went hitless on the night.
The Cougars posted hits in both the first and third inning, but stranded four runners on base through three to come up scoreless. Haley Lemons was the first Bobcat to achieve the first hit on the night in the 4th inning. Pinch runner Brooke Baker entered the game and stole second. Jenna Emery was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. A wild pitch by Bailey Watts advanced the runners into scoring position, but a McKenzie Baack strikeout ended the inning before a run could be scored for Texas State. The rest of the game in regulation was on the same basic set listm as both teams continued to leave nine runners on base.
As the extra innings session got underway, Coach Ricci Woodard decided to let Chandler Hall rest by replacing her with Senior Elizabeth Dennis. In one inning of work, Dennis only gave up one hit and no runs for a solid bit of play. What surprised a lot of fans was UH's decision to keep pitcher Bailey Watts in the game after playing near perfect in her seven total innings. Watts continued on her streak continuing to strikeout batters.
In the top of the ninth inning, Coach Woodard made a bold decision to replace Dennis with the freshman Anne Marie Taylor. Taylor, however, immediately fell victim to the frustrated Cougars. She quickly gave up three runs, with two coming off of an Ashleigh Jones single to the outfield. The Houston, Texas native was eventually was tagged with the loss against her hometown team, while Watts received her 11th win of the season.
Texas State faces a crucial series as they travel down I-35 to San Antonio this weekend, where it will face UTSA April 23-24 at Roadrunner Field. Friday's doubleheader begins at 5 p.m, while Saturday's single game is set for 12 p.m. Texas State still holds a tie for first in Southland with SFA, so this series could help determine who is Queen of the Mountain by Saturday afternoon. All three games will be aired on 89.9 FM KTSW, ktsw.net, and txstatebobcats.com. For more information on stats, scores, and other updates you can always visit txstatebobcats.com or follow KTSWsports on Twitter.com/ktswsports
Tyler Thomason, KTSW Sports Staff Writer
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