From staff reports
Texas State opened Sun Belt Conference play with a dramatic 1-0 extra-inning victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Friday night in San Marcos.
In a tightly contested pitchers’ duel, the Bobcats finally broke through in the bottom of the 10th inning when Megan Kelnar lined an RBI single down the left-field line, scoring Harley Vestal to give Texas State the walk-off win.
Both teams struggled to generate offense throughout the night. Texas State finished with seven hits, while ULM managed five, but neither team scored through the first nine innings.
Texas State pitcher Madison Azua delivered a dominant performance in the circle, throwing a complete-game shutout across 10 innings, allowing five hits while striking out seven to earn the win.
ULM starter Ashanti McDade nearly matched Azua pitch-for-pitch, allowing just one run on seven hits over 9⅔ innings with eight walks and two strikeouts before taking the loss.
Offensively, Keely Williams and Kat Zarate each collected two hits to lead the Bobcats at the plate, while Vestal scored the game’s only run.
With the win, Texas State improves to 17-8 overall and 1-0 in Sun Belt play, while ULM falls to 16-13 and 0-1 in conference action.
Game two of the three-game series is scheduled for 2 p.m., Saturday at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos. The series finale is scheduled for noon, Sunday.
Box score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ULM | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Texas State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
WP: Madison Azua (11-6)
LP: Ashanti McDade (6-5)
Texas State: Keely Williams 2-4, double; Kat Zarate: 2-5; Megan Kelnar: 1-4, RBI; Azura 7 Ks, 2 BB, shutout
ULM: Elle Carter 2-4; Meagan Brown: 1-3, double
