SAN ANGELO – The No. 2 Angelo State softball team opened its Lone Star Conference series with Midwestern State with an 8-0 five inning run-rule victory at Mayer Field on Friday night.
The Rambelles improve to 39-4 overall and 16-3 in the LSC after outhitting the Mustangs (17-21, 8-14 LSC) 8-2. It is ASU's 17th shutout of the season and the eighth run-rule victory of the season.
"Well it was fun to come out and put four on the board in the first inning," Angelo State head softball coach Travis Scott said. "We have struggled to do that and to be able to string five hits together in one inning that got our team rejuvenated. Brandy was awesome again in the circle tonight. I was proud of the way we ran bases. Our goal is to walk out of here with 41 wins after tomorrow. We have to make sure we show up tomorrow ready to get after it because that is a team that has been playing well here lately."
ASU jumped on the board quickly with four runs in the bottom of the first. Kenedy Urbany hit a ball off the top of the center field fence that bounced back into the play of field and would score on a wild pitch. Taegan Kirk hit a RBI single to center field to make it 2-0. Alexis Evans came up with the bases loaded and recorded two RBI single to plate Kirk and Amanda Ramage.
Brandy Marlett stifled the Midwestern State offense in five innings of work. The junior held the Mustangs to just two hits and struck out 11. The last strikeout of the fifth was Marlett's 200th strikeout of the season and she becomes the second player in ASU history with at least 200 strikeouts in a single season. She is now 22 away from breaking Claudia Lopez single season record of 221 thrown in 2003.
Three more runs scored in the fourth. Kirk added her second RBI of the game with a single to center field. Ramage put down a sacrifice bunt and a pair of errors by MSU allowed Courtney Barnhill and Kirk to score unearned runs.
Up 7-0 in the fifth, Urbany ended the game with a double to right center to bring home Madison Greenwell from second.
The Rambelles will conclude the series with Midwestern State with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. at Mayer Field.
