Houston Cougar pitcher Gigi Solis (1) aims for first base against Texas State outfielder Harley Vestal (12) during the NCAA softball match on Tuesday, Mar 17, 2026 in Houston, Texas. Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar
On March 17 at the Cougars Softball Stadium, UH Cougars were looking to score a win against their intrastate competitors, the Texas State Bobcats, to add to their 17 total wins against them.
Instead, they added what amounted to their fifteenth loss against the Bobcats in what was a pretty close game in which Texas State scored most of their runs early, leaving the Cougars to play catch-up for most of the game. Cougars came close but couldn’t seal the deal with the final score being 12-8.
The Cougars put numbers on the board first in the first inning, with junior infielder Makenna Mitchell knocking one out of the park and bringing sophomore pitcher/infielder Maddie Hartley in with her for two scores.
In the second inning, Houston allowed Texas State to gain eight runs. It began with Bobcats’ junior infielder Kate Bubela launching a deep ball through deep center field that allowed freshman outfielder Harley Vestal to score and tie the game up at 2-2.
Senior outfielder Keely Williams then singled to allow sophomore infielder Mayson Garrett to put Texas State up 3-2.
The action for the Bobcats continued in the second inning, when senior catcher Karmyn Bass singled up the middle for two RBIs, with Hood and Williams both crossing home plate while advancing senior utility player Sydney Harvey to second base, putting the score in the second at 5-2.
Vestal then homered to deep right field for 3 RBIs with Harvey scoring from second base and Bass scoring from first. The second inning ended with the score in favor of Texas State with a total of eight runs scored.
Houston was on the ropes, but found a way in the fourth inning with neither team scoring in the third. Hartley hit a grand slam into deep center field, bringing home freshman outfielder Rylee Gardner, junior infielder Bethany Aguilar from second base and freshman outfielder Shelby Taylor from first base, putting the Cougars within reach with the score being 8-6.
The Bobcats responded in the sixth inning when Williams blasted a dinger and senior infielder Aiyana Coleman hit a hard home run to deep center field for three RBIs, allowing Harvey and Bass to score. This extended the Bobcats’ lead to 12-6 by the end of the inning.3
Houston tried to catch up in the seventh inning when Mitchell again homered to right field for a solo score and sophomore catcher Savanna Luther doubled to left center, allowing sophomore infielder Madox Mitchael to score from first. Hood also scored due to a fielding error on the same play, bringing the Cougars within four runs.
The Bobcats’ pitching staff did its job, though, which ended the scoring for Houston and brought the game to a close with the final score being 12-8. UH Cougars are now on a three-game losing streak and look to bounce back against the University of Kentucky Wildcats on March 18 at home.
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