Third baseman Sara Vanderford makes a play on the groundball in the Bobcats game against Texas A&M. It was a historic season for the Bobcats who qualfied for their first Regional Final since 2003.
Photo submitted by Peter Vives
Dr. Seuss once said, “Don’t cry because it is over. Smile because it happened.”
That is how I feel watching the Texas State softball season this year and seeing their season come to an end against Texas A&M.
For many fans, I can understand their frustration of not being able to host a regional for the first time in program history then not being able make it into Super Regionals.
The expectations at Texas State are very high and being able to not only compete for a conference crown but make the NCAA Tournament is the standard.
But if you focus on the what ifs, you miss how special this season really was.
Texas State entered the 2024 season with already high expectations after qualifying for the NCAA Tournament as the At-Large bid last year.
With every starter returning for the season, the Bobcats were set to make noise.
Texas State ran through non-conference play beating the likes of Arizona State, Ohio State, Penn State, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Baylor.
The Bobcats also played the Texas Longhorns, the No. 1 ranked team in the nation and No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, twice and played them tough through seven innings.
In conference play, Texas State finished second place and handed Louisiana their first conference loss of the season with a 6-0 shutout win over the Ragin Cajuns.
But the excitement reached a fever in the conference tournament due to Texas State hosting it.
With many seniors having to miss their own graduation, they made it worth it.
Despite the odds set against the team due to strong storm cells bringing hurricane-like winds to San Marcos forcing the team to play three games in two days, the Bobcats ran through the tournament and beat arch rival Louisiana to win their first conference tournament championship since 2018.
Going into the NCAA Tournament, Texas State once again looked to make an impact.
The Bobcats faced off with Penn State, who Texas State had swept in a three game series earlier in the season.
Knowing they were going to get Penn State’s best shot, the Bobcats prevailed to beat the Nittany Lions 4-2. It was the first time Texas State defeated a team in the opening game of the NCAA Tournament since 2021.
In a rematch, Texas State met up with Texas A&M once more.
In perhaps one of the greatest pitcher duels I’ve ever seen, it was the Aggies who prevailed 1-0.
Now the Bobcats were faced with the most difficult challenge yet, beating Penn State a fifth time in one season to avoid elimination.
As any coach can tell you, beating an opponent three times is tough enough. To do it five times in a row is almost impossible, especially against a member of a major conference.
Yet Texas State defied the odds. Using a grand slam from center fielder Piper Randolph, the Bobcats knocked off Penn State 8-4 to advance.
Moving into the regional final, the Bobcats were in the midst a historic moment.
In the history of the program, only two teams had ever made it this far.
The 2001 and 2003 Southwest Texas State Bobcats.
Both teams made it to the regional final only to face two of the best pitchers in the history of the sport. The 2001 team lost to Jennie Finch and the Arizona Wildcats and the 2003 team lost to Cat Osterman and the Texas Longhorns. Both would go on to lead Team U.S.A. to gold medals before Osterman eventually became a coach at Texas State herself.
Texas State tried their best but ultimately lost to Texas A&M 8-0 to see their season come to a close.
In short, it is sad to see a historic season come to an end from one of the best teams in Texas State softball history.
But don’t let that sadness take away from the fact it was an amazing ride from start to finish.
cmcwilliams@sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
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