Softball: April 24 Scoreboard
Southland Conference
Sam Houston State 1, UIW 0
Sam Houston State 4, UIW 2
Houston Baptist 5, Central Arkansas 1
Central Arkansas 9, Houston Baptist 4
Abilene Christian 6, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 8, Abilene Christian 7
McNeese State 10, Lamar 7
Northwestern State 0, Stephen F. Austin 0 (T2), Postponed (Lightning)
Sam Houston State 1, UIW 0
Sam Houston State 4, UIW 2
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Sam Houston State softball team swept a double header Friday on the road at Incarnate Word.
In the opening game of the three-game series, the Kats (17-26, 8-13 SLC) used a combination of three pitchers to pull out a 1-0 win over the Cardinals (9-36, 3-20). Meme Quinn (7-6) got the start, going five innings, striking out three to get the win. Tayler Atkinson worked 1 1/3 innings of relief and Haley Baros retired the final two batters to get her fourth save of the season.
The lone run for the Kats came on a sacrifice fly by Sarah Allison, scoring Jessica Slater. Dani Allen collected three hits.
In the night cap, Baros scattered 10 hits in the circle, allowing just 2 runs in a 4-2 win. Baros (3-7) worked six innings while Atkinson pitched a scoreless seventh for her first save of the season.
Jennie Kieval got the scoring started for the Kats in the top of the second inning, scoring Allison. After UIW plated a pair in the bottom half of the frame, the Kats answered right back.
After two quick outs, Allen got things going with a double. She advanced to third on a wild pitch and then tied the game on a base hit by Tiffany Castillo. Hillary Adams then singled home Castillo and Allison to give the Kats the lead.
Neither team was able to score after that.
The final game of the series will be Saturday at noon.
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Houston Baptist 5, Central Arkansas 1
Central Arkansas 9, Houston Baptist 4
HOUSTON, Texas – Sophomore outfielder Cecilia Bauer hit a two-run blast to left and junior hurler Laci Belovsky tossed another gem as HBU took game one from second-place Central Arkansas, 5-1, Friday afternoon from Husky Field. The Bears defeated the Huskies in game two, 9-4.
The two teams will look to untie both the season and all-time series (4-4) Saturday at noon.
HBU drew first blood in game one as Melissa Herman’s RBI double to center brought home Shay Orsak from third in the bottom of the first.
UCA would tie the game in the top of the fourth as Hayley Parker’s RBI single to right-center allowed Hannah Stirton to cross the plate.
The deadlock was short-lived as HBU took the lead for good on Bauer’s two-out, two-run home run to left in the bottom half of the frame.
The Bears had a golden opportunity to tie or take the lead in the top of the fifth, with the bases loaded and one out, but Libby Brown’s heads-up play got the force-out at home for the second out and Orsak snagged a sharp grounder down the line to get the force-out at third to end the inning without any damage.
The next inning, HBU got some insurance, as Brown hit a two-run double to center to give the Huskies a four-run lead.
Herman and Brown each had two hits to lead HBU, while Brown and Bauer had two RBIs apiece. Belovsky improved to 9-11 on the season as she allowed five hits, one run, and three walks with three strikeouts in a complete-game effort.
Five different Bears registered a hit, while Parker had the lone RBI. Kylee Studioso dropped to 23-10 on the season, as she allowed six hits, three runs, and two walks with one strikeout in 3.2 innings. Kayla Gomness tossed the final 2.1 innings.
In game two, UCA took advantage of free passes as the Bears took a big lead early. UCA scored five times in the top of the first, as the Huskies had three walks in the inning. The Bears added three more runs in the top of the second thanks to six walks in the frame.
HBU battled back and put a four-spot in the bottom of the fourth, as singles by Erica Reyes and Bauer put runners at first and second with two outs. Orsak’s two-run double to center allowed both runners to score. Orsak would later score on a UCA error to make it 9-3. Nicole Shedd’s RBI single allowed Granchelli to cross home to complete the scoring.
Shedd went 4-for-4 in the game, the second four-hit game she has had this season. Bauer continued the hot bat, as she went 2-for-3 with a run scored. Shannon O’Connor (3-9) took the loss as she lasted just two-thirds of an inning. Emily Mueller and Belovsky also saw action as the trio combined for three strikeouts.
Five different players had a hit for UCA while the top three hitters in Sam Forrest, Briana Whisenhunt, and Sarah Bigej each had two runs. Ashley Boswell had a game-high three RBIs. Gomness (3-0) earned the win in relief as she allowed three hits in 2.1 innings.
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Abilene Christian 6, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 8, Abilene Christian 7
ABILENE, Texas – Abilene Christian softball was three outs away from a doubleheader sweep of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi when the Islanders' bats sprang to life in the seventh, scoring five runs for an 8-7 victory.
The disappointing loss followed a solid 6-3 victory for the Wildcats in game one and snapped their four-game series winning streak against Corpus Christi. It also delayed ACU once again from winning their first Southland Conference series of the spring.
After breaking a 1-1 tie in the fourth on sophomore Kaleigh Singleton's bases-clearing double, it certainly appeared the Wildcats (11-32, 5-18 Southland) were destined for victory as that frame was followed by one in which freshmen Brianna Barnhill and Kaleigh Lightsey went deep off starter Katie Blanar.
Barnhill's solo shot was her second of the day and seventh of the spring, while Lightsey's first career shot to left-center put the Wildcats comfortably ahead at 7-2.
Lightsey was the last batter for Blanar as she would be replaced by game one starter Liz Carter.
Carter started her role as reliever with a ground ball out but went on to load the bases on a walk and back-to-back singles by freshman Melissa Rodriguez and Demi McNulty. She caught a big break after fielding a tapper by sophomore Taylor Brown to get the force at home and then benefitted from a huge catch by her shortstop Jessica Mendez, who snared a rising line drive off the bat of rookie Peyton Hedrick.
That one play seemingly shifted the fortunes of both teams as the Islanders added one run in the sixth before teeing off in the seventh, during which they sent eight batters to the plate.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats stranded runner at second base with one out in the sixth and ended the game on a fly ball to right with runners at first and second.
Carter drove in the Islanders' first two runs of the seventh on her second double of the game and would score on a two-out rip up the middle by Dani Tefft that cut ACU's lead to 7-6.
On the next play Cosette Hernandez ran out a ground ball to second base to bring in the tying run, but the throw to get her sailed wide, thus allowing Tefft to score the game-winner from second.
ACU, in its final at-bat, got two runners on with two outs as junior Demi McNulty chopped a single over the third-baseman's head for her second hit of the night and Brown reached on an infield single to third to finish the doubleheader 5-for-8.
Carter then went to work against the hard-hitting Hedrick with a base open, and got her to fly out to deep right on a ball - that for a moment - seemed like it could be a walk-off.
Game one was slightly less dramatic, although it did feature an impressive Wildcat rally as the home team scored six unanswered runs between the third and fourth innings after starting the contest in a 3-0 hole.
Hedrick made it a 3-1 game with an RBI triple in the third and scored on Barnhill's ensuing single. Holly Neese then got on board with an error and came home three batters later on a game-tying hit to left by Alyson Bishoff.
Rodriguez gave the Wildcats the lead for good at 4-3 on an infield single to short with runners at the corners, and in the fourth, Barnhill muscled a two-run shot to right-center field to make it 6-3.
Following the Islanders (16-26-1, 11-11 SLC) third inning in which they scored an unearned run, senior starter Emily Seidel retired the side in order in the fourth and fifth (five ground balls) and pitched her way out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth with a strikeout of Lindsey Lyles.
Seidel was taken out in the seventh in favor of Montoya after issuing a leadoff walk. But Montoya left that runner stranded as she put down the top of the Islanders' order on only nine pitches in earning her second career save.
Montoya pitched a 1-2-3 first in game two, but had to escape several major jams the rest of the way as she allowed at least two hits in every inning from the second to seventh.
Corpus Christi catcher Brittney Morse homered to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead in the second, but the Wildcats came back to tie the score on a two-out RBI single by Brown.
The Islanders left two on base in the third and fourth before getting one back in the fifth on a run-scoring double by Morse, who finished the night cap 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI.
Hernandez plated Tefft in the sixth after the Islanders' left fielder reached second on a bloop shot that landed between Hedrick and Rodriguez.
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McNeese State 10, Lamar 7
LAKE CHARLES, La. – McNeese softball opened its final Southland Conference home series with a 10-7 win over Lamar Friday night, extending the Cowgirls’ winning streak to five games.
McNeese (31-18, 16-5 SLC) looked like they were going to run rule the Cardinals after taking a 7-0 lead after two innings.
“I’m really proud of how we competed and never stopped,” said head coach Joanna Hardin. “We kept scoring, kept putting runners on and kept making things happen. You have to tip your cap off to Lamar, they kept fighting back and punching back. This series is going to be a dog fight,” said Hardin.
The teams will conclude the series Saturday with a 3 p.m. doubleheader. Prior to the games, McNeese will honor senior outfielder Lauren Langner and pitcher Bianca Lilly.
“I’m excited for senior day, it’s going to be a great day Saturday and we are excited to be able to send the seniors off the right way. We are looking forward to coming back to the field on Saturday and getting after it,” Hardin said.
The Cowgirls ended the game with 13 hits, the second most hits in a game this season. Designated player Morgan Catron continued her hot hitting streak with two hits including a three run home to give McNeese a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Taylor Schmidt, Hailey Drew and Dakota Matiko also collected two hits apiece. Schmidt hit her third home run of the season in the second inning and knocked in three runs on the night.
After Catron’s home run in the opening frame, Langner was hit by a pitch then scored on a Schmidt double to left center for a 4-0 lead.
McNeese kept up its aggressive play and base running in the second inning and tacked on three more runs on two hits. Catron walked, stole second, and went to third on a throw at home that got Emily Vincent attempting to score. Catron scored came home on a wild pitch. Schmidt brought Langner home on her home run that went over the center field wall.
It started to look like Vincent, the Cowgirls starter might be on her way to picking up her first career no-hitter but Lamar had other plans.
The Cardinals (22-21, 12-7 SLC) came out in the fourth inning and collected three consecutive hits and scored three runs with one out. Shannon Sain started the Lamar scoring with a solo home run before Stephanie Meewsen singled to Vincent and Sable Hawkins doubled to left center.
McNeese got a run back in the bottom of the fourth on a RBI single up the middle by Langner for an 8-3 McNeese lead.
Lamar cut the lead to 8-7 by scoring four runs on four hits in the fifth. McNeese scored two insurance runs in the sixth to extend its lead to 10-7. Catron led the inning off with a double to right center and scored when Lamar’s catcher threw out Schmidt attempting to steal second. Drew’s RBI to left field scored Bryanna Castro. Castro re-entered the game after Amber Schisler singled up the middle as a pinch hitter for Castro.
Rachel Smith, the Cowgirls’ second reliever in the game, gave up a leadoff double to Sarah Ragsdale in the seventh. Smith then got Lamar’s heart of the lineup, Sain and Meewsen to ground out the short for the first two outs before getting Hankins to pop out to Vincent at first to end the game.
Vincent picked up the win to improve to 12-5 on the season. She gave up six runs on six hits in 4 2/3 innings and struck out three. Smith picked up her first save of the season in two innings of work and gave up only one hit.
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Northwestern State 0, Stephen F. Austin 0 (T2), Postponed (Lightning)
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – After getting through one scoreless inning of play on Friday, the softball opener between Stephen F. Austin and Northwestern State has been postponed until Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. The two teams will resume play in the second inning at that time with a full seven-inning game to follow.
Callee Guffey notched two strikeouts in one quick inning of work to start Friday's game and Heather Hollingsworth recorded a hit for the Ladyjacks in the bottom half before lightning forced the stoppage in play.
Brittney Jones will lead off for the Lady Demons to start the second inning when play picks back up on Saturday. The status of the third and final game of the series is still undetermined.
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