University Star

The Bobcats dropped all five of their games in the Hilton Houston Plaza Classic as seven players sat out this weekend’s action after violating team rules.

Among the suspended were sophomore shortstop Selena Hernandez, senior second baseman Anna Hernandez and sophomore third baseman Courtney Harris. They make up three-fourths of Texas State’s returning starting infield for 2013.

The Bobcats were selected last month by WAC coaches to finish first in the conference. The team won the Southland Conference last year after starting the campaign by dropping five of six contests. This year Texas State is off to a similar start with some “adversity” to face.

“We’re going to have to keep battling through adversity,” said Coach Ricci Woodard. “We always talk about how it’s not always about how you start. It’s important on how you finish. Going 0-5 this weekend is not a major issue for us, as long as we learned from it.”

The ball club led in three of the five games played in Houston, and was tied at one point in another. The team took a 4-1 lead into the final inning against its first opponent, the University of Iowa, but gave up a two-run homer and a double in the seventh in a 5-4 loss. Texas State had an opportunity to win in the bottom of the seventh but could not capitalize. The team ended the game with a runner on first and second.

Texas State dropped a 7-3 decision in its first ever meeting against Lipscomb University. The Bobcats jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead with freshman catcher Katie Doerre’s first collegiate home run but gave up seven runs in the game.

Games two, four and five were against the University of Houston, and the Bobcats were unable to gain wins in any of those matchups. Texas State started with a 2-1 advantage in Saturday’s game against the Cougars, but allowed Houston to rattle off six runs between the third and sixth inning. The Bobcats tried to make a comeback by scoring three runs in the sixth inning but fell short 7-5.

The Bobcats were shutout 7-0 in the last game of the tournament on Sunday. The Cougars scored seven runs on 13 hits and handed Texas State its fifth loss in three days.

“I actually thought the team did a really good job struggling through things this weekend,” Woodard said. “The team tried to continue to battle, and I felt that (Sunday) was really the only day it caught up with us. Other than that, I felt that we had every chance to win every ball game.”

The Texas State softball team was outscored 29-12 in the Hilton Houston Plaza Classic. The Bobcats were the only team that did not get a win.

“Well I think the key is that we’ll have to move forward,” Woodard said. “Last week is behind us. We are kind of ready for a new week. We’re looking forward to practice (Tuesday) to rekindle the fire a little bit this week.”

Other suspended players this weekend included Brittney Garcia, who was used as a pinch runner last year. Sophomore outfielder Alli Akina, daughter of Defensive Back Coach Duane Akina from the University of Texas-Austin’s football program, is a newcomer alongside Timishia North and Delia Saucedo.