Texas State Wins Southland Softball Tournament Championship
No. 3 Texas State 8, No. 1 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 5
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Texas State upset the top seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 8-5 in the championship game of the 2011 Southland Conference Softball Tournament Saturday in Huntsville, Texas earning the league's automatic selection to the NCAA tournament.
The win gives Texas State its second Southland tournament crown in the last three years and league-leading fifth overall.
Texas State outscored its opponents 24-to-7 over the course of the tournament. Junior Chandler Hall made Southland history as the first player to be named tournament MVP for a second time. Hall is also one of only four players selected to three all-tournament teams joining former Bobcats Jennie Tomme and Kristen Zaleski and Brandy Kenney of Northwestern State.
Joining Hall on the all-tournament team from Texas State are seniors Jenna Emery and McKenzie Baack and sophomores Haley Lemons and Anne Marie Taylor. Emery and Baack each received their second career all-tournament award.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi junior Brittany Tucker put the Islanders on the board first (1-0) in the bottom of the first inning with a solo shot to deep center field, her second home run of the tournament. Later in the bottom of the third inning with two out and a runner on third, Tucker tied the Southland tournament record with a two-run bomb off the scoreboard marking her third consecutive home run in as many at bats.
Later in the fifth inning, Texas State exploded for five runs. Senior Allyce Rother led off the inning for the Bobcats with a single to right field, senior Lindsay Matt drew a walk and junior Chandler Hall singled to center field to load the bases with no outs. Senior McKenzie Baack reached base on an error by the Islander short stop allowing Rother to score the Bobcats first run of the game. Senior Jenna Emery drove in three more runs with a single to center field to give the Bobcats the lead at 4-3. Sophomore Anna Hernandez was next at the plate and doubled to right field capping a 5-run fifth by Texas State.
The Bobcats added three more runs to ice the game in the top of the sixth to extend their lead to five runs. Rother began the inning with a leadoff double, followed by a single by Matt and a walk by Hall to load the bases with no outs. Lemons singled to push Rother home and give Texas State its sixth run of the day. Matt scored on an error and Hall on a sacrifice fly by Hernandez to take an 8-3 edge.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi would chip into the lead in the bottom of the sixth to make it 8-5. Junior Sandy Schumann singled and advanced to second on a single by junior Cassie Redman. Sanders followed by reaching on a fielder's choice and moving up on an error while Redman was out at second. Senior Caley Jeter then came to the plate and singled through the right side to score Schumann and Sanders and pull their team to within three runs.
In their first tournament championship appearance, the Islanders received three all-tournament selections as Tucker, Jeter and junior Jordan Trujillo all received honors.
Four teams are represented on the all-tournament team. Texas State led with five selections while the runner-up Islanders had three. McNeese State had two all-tournament selections as senior Molly Guidry and freshman Stacey Conley received honors. UTSA senior Kristin Kappler also received recognition for her efforts in leading the Roadrunners in an upset win of the No. 2 seed UT Arlington.
Texas State's next opponent will be announced on the NCAA Softball Tournament Selection Show on ESPNU at 9 p.m. Sunday, May 15.
All-Tournament Team
Chandler Hall, Texas State (MVP)
Jenna Emery, Texas State
McKenzie Baack, Texas State
Haley Lemons, Texas State
Anne Marie Taylor, Texas State
Caley Jeter, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Brittany Tucker, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Jordan Trujillo, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Molly Guidry, McNeese State
Stacey Conley, McNeese State
Kristin Kappler, UTSA
Post Game Quotes
Texas State Coach Ricci Woodard
"Obviously, it was a group of young ladies with experience today. They didn't get rattled when we got down by a couple of runs early in the ball game. They stayed with it and continued to make adjustments. It couldn't have turned out any better for me knowing that Chandler Hall was named MVP of the tournament. There's no one that works harder than Chandler. I thought it was a very well deserved award considering the way she swings the bat and pitches."
Southland Tournament MVP - Texas State Junior Chandler Hall
Coming in here and winning the tournament and earning a bid to the NCAA Regional is great. I felt really confident this weekend. I though the whole team was behind me and cheering me on. I didn’t know if I was going to get the start today, but when coach Woodard told me I was I got a little nervous. I decided I wasn’t going to worry about and just wanted to go out there and give it my best. The team did an awesome job at getting runs on the board all weekend. I am proud of them.