Lehman junior point guard De’Andre Carson was the un-questioned team leader for the Lobos this season. He was named first-team All-District for the third straight year. (photo by Judy Cooper)
Hays sophomore Hayden Cagle overcame a serious injury as a freshman to help lead the Rebels to their first playoff win since 1980 this season. He and teammate Caleb Kimbro were named first-team All-District. Other local basketball players named first-team All-District were Lehman’s De’Andre Carson, and Amara Smith, and Hays’ Lindsey McCurdy and Nicole Alcantara. (photo by Bruce Ruckel, www.chaparralphoto.com)
by JASON GORDON
Texas State pitcher Chandler Hall made sure no one in attendance at the Bobcat Softball Field Friday night would forget their experience in the near future.
Hall threw a no-hitter against Stephen F. Austin as the Bobcats beat the Ladyjacks 4-0.
It was the second no-hitter of Hall’s career. It came at a perfect time as the Bobcats are at the beginning of their Southland Conference schedule.
Texas State went on to sweep SFA and split a doubleheader with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Monday. The Bobcats now have a 17-11 overall record and a 3-1 mark in SLC play.
Friday against SFA, Texas State struck first when former Hays High standout Anna Hernandez stole second base in the first inning. The play allowed Brooke Baker to steal home after the Ladyjack second baseman lost control of the ball after Hernandez slid into second.
The Bobcats soon found another opportunity to score, this time in the second inning, when Jordan Masek hit the ball just hard enough to go over the left fielder’s glove as she produced an RBI double that scored Allison Snow from first base.
The fourth inning was a wild one. Courtney Harris hit a hard single down the left side with one out, followed by a catcher’s interference call and a hit by pitch to load the bases. A bases loaded walk to Masek pushed Harris home and extended the Bobcats’ lead to 3-0, which was more than enough for Hall to work with.
Fans in the stands knew that Hall was pitching an amazing game, but they remained quiet so they wouldn’t jinx the no-hitter.
Hall fanned all three batters she faced in the sixth inning, and three straight SFA groundouts in the seventh closed out the no-hitter and sent the crowd into a frenzy.
SFA’s lone base runner came on a Hall walk in the fourth inning.
The Bobcats have now won eight of their last nine games.
Hall was selected as the Southland Conference Pitcher of the Week for her outstanding effort. She also struck out 13 Liberty batters in a Texas State win earlier in the week and held her opponents to a miniscule .024 batting average in the two wins.
Texas State is back in Southland Conference action at home this weekend with a Friday night (6 p.m.) game and Saturday afternoon (1 p.m.) game against Southeastern Louisiana.
