A weather delay prolonged the first inning of the second game of the softball series between Marshall and Texas State, and the Bobcats' bats waited even longer to come around in a 5-4 victory Friday night in San Marcos, Texas.Â
Jessica Mullens collected her 27th win of the season after pitching the final six innings after the Thundering Herd (24-26, 10-13 Sun Belt) jumped ahead early, scoring three runs in the first frame against Madison Azua.Â
Camryn Michallas singled to bring across the first run before Rielly Lucas walked to load the bases and Mother Nature forced a stoppage in play. When it resumed, another walk doubled the lead and Michallas came around to score on a wild pitch.Â
The senior third baseman finished with two run-scoring hits in the loss and was responsible for driving in the final run of the evening in the seventh inning, but the Herd finished one run short after Texas State (41-13, 17-6 SBC) scored two in the fourth and three in the fifth to jump in front.Â
Katarina Zarate brought in four of those runs, one with a single and three on a home run to round out a 2-for-3 night at the plate. In between them, Hannah Earls notched an RBI single.Â
Brooklyn Ulrich doubled twice to join Michallas as the only Herd hitters to finish with multiple hits in the loss. Bella Gerlach, Bub Feringa and Destiny Washington each had one hit.Â
The loss was given to Savannah Rice after just 1 2/3 innings of work. She gave up two hits and three earned runs. Feringa pitched three innings and allowed two runs, and Kaleea Washington tossed an inning and a third, giving up two hits.
The series resumes Saturday at 1 p.m. and will serve as the regular season finale for both teams.
Luke Creasy is a reporter for The Herald-Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @LukeCreasy or reach him by phone at 304-526-2800.
