The Texas State softball team will try to end their six-game losing streak at the Centurylink Classic March 1-3.

The team (2-12) is coming off an 0-5 performance at home last weekend, and not been winless this long since the team endured a 10-game losing streak in the 2005 season.

The team will be without starting senior pitcher Anne Marie Taylor, who Coach Ricci Woodard hopes will be able to return “in a few weeks” after rehabilitating from a torn ACL.

Taylor said on her Twitter page she is “going to try to play the rest of the season with a torn ACL.” Taylor has not pitched since Feb. 17 when the team lost 3-2 to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.

Woodard said the team is going to try to get Taylor back as soon as possible.

In Texas State softball’s first home stand this year, the ball club lost all five games in the Texas Shootout and dropped to 2-12 overall.

The softball team is in the midst of a six-game losing streak, the longest the team has endured since the 2005 season when it suffered 10 straight losses. The team lost starting pitcher Anne Marie Taylor to a leg injury last week, and has gone without sophomore shortstop Selena Hernandez and sophomore outfielder Brittney Garcia all year.

The Bobcats had not lost a home contest since Feb. 19, 2012. The team was riding a 14-game home-winning streak coming into this year’s Shootout.

The Texas State softball team will try to defend its 14-game home winning streak in this weekend’s Texas Shootout, but will have to do so without one of their star pitchers.

Texas State will play four of the five teams in the tournament, including a familiar foe in former Southland rival Sam Houston State University.

Last season, the Bobcats swept the series against SHSU. They were victorious in the Southland Conference Championship game, 3-0, with then-senior Chandler Hall pitching her second no-hitter of the season, going 2 for 3 at the plate and driving in a run.

“With ex-Southland conference teams and Sam Houston, we know they’ll be out there to beat us,” Lemons said. “We didn’t leave them with a good taste in their mouth. We’ve dominated that conference and so yes, we know we can beat them. With all of those match-ups, we know we have to bring our “A” game because they want to beat us so bad.”

Haley Lemons

OE: What would you consider a perfect date?

HL: A perfect date would be us going to see my favorite or any band. I would like going to see a show and then going to dinner or staying out all night and being crazy.

OE: What’s the best date you’ve ever been on?

HL: Honestly, the best date I’ve ever been on was with my fiance. We just had a little picnic at our house and watched an old movie outside on a projector. I just think the best date just depends on being with the best person.

OE: What is the most important quality in a significant other?

HL: For me, the most important quality is if he loves God or not. His relationship with God should be the most important thing because when he is held to a higher standard than what I expect, he will be more reliable.

OE: Is going to the movies—a traditional date—a good or bad first date in your mind?

The Texas State softball team won both games against Mississippi Valley State University but was unable to conquer No. 15 University of Louisiana-Lafayette in the 27th Annual Louisiana Classic.

Texas State took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning against the Ragin’ Cajuns. The ball club was an out away from pulling the upset when senior starting pitcher Anne Marie Taylor left the final game of the weekend with an undisclosed injury.

“If we didn’t lose Anne Marie late, we probably would have won that game,” said Coach Ricci Woodard. “She had to come out of the game. She has an injury, and we are just waiting for a report to see where she’s at. Playing (Louisiana-Lafayette) the way we did on Sunday shows that we have the capabilities of being one of the best teams in the country.”

The Texas State softball team is currently on a five-game losing streak and is looking to avenge its start by traveling to Lafayette this weekend to compete in the 27th Annual Louisiana Classic.

The University of Louisiana-Lafayette will host Mississippi Valley State University and the Bobcats for the two-day tournament taking place Feb. 16-17.

“The big thing we have to do is have three good days of practice,” said Coach Ricci Woodard. “We need high energy, and we need high level practices. We have to have kids ready to get after it for this week’s classic.”

Senior Jordan Masek and junior Coralee Ramirez are off to good beginnings, despite Texas State’s 0-5 start. Masek leads the team with a .417 batting average and had at least a hit in all five games of the Hilton Houston Plaza Classic. Ramirez hit two homers and made five RBI in last weekend’s match-ups.

OE: Recently you chose to play football at Texas State. Why’d you choose to play football for the Bobcats?

DR: The big reason is location. My parents, my friends and even my coaches can come watch me play. San Marcos is such a great place, and I felt right at home when I went on my visit. Those were really the biggest factors in me choosing to be part of Bobcat nation.

OE: What special skill sets do you possess that made coaches want you to come play ball for the Bobcats?

DR: I have good football speed. I run track. So, that helps me a lot, and I feel that I am very versatile and can do a lot of things. I can run. I can hit. And I can really just do a lot of things with my skill set.

OE: I know in high school you played multiple positions. What position do you feel most comfortable at?

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.”

Texas State softball won the Southland Conference last year, but started their 2012’s campaign dropping five of six contests. This year the Bobcats are hoping to start off the season on a better note.

The team will get a chance to do just that at the Hilton Houston Plaza Classic. The tournament will be hosted by the University of Houston from Feb. 8-10 and will officially begin the Bobcat’s season.
The Bobcats will face the University of Iowa first, their only meeting of the tournament. The Hawkeyes own a 2-0 all-time record against Texas State. The last time the teams played was in 2010 when Iowa put up four runs, winning 4-1. Now-senior first baseman Haley Lemons drove in the only run in the game for the Bobcats.

Texas State’s softball team will start the season on Friday with high expectations, both for themselves and from around the conference.

Last month, the Texas State softball team was selected by the WAC coaches to win the conference in their first and only season in the league. The ball club received five of the eight first place votes and the 43 points the team earned beat out San Jose State University by one, placing the Spartans second.

“The good thing for us is that this isn’t a spot we haven’t been in,” said Coach Ricci Woodard. “We go into the season expecting to be in that spot. It’s not like there is more pressure on us than there has been as it’s just a different conference. We hope to come out the same way we have the last few years. We all understand that poll doesn’t mean anything in February. It only means something in May.”