LAKE CHARLES, La. – Fifth seed A&M-Corpus Christi held off a late charge from fourth seed Lamar to pick up a 3-2 win in the opening game of the 2023 Southland Conference Softball Championship.
 
The Islanders (24-22) advance to face top seed McNeese on Wednesday at 11 a.m. in the winners’ bracket, while Lamar (20-33) will play at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the losers’ bracket against the loser of an earlier winners’ bracket game.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi took the lead in the top of the first inning, when first baseman Sydney Hoyt launched a two-run homer to left-center for a 2-0 Islander advantage.
 
SLC Pitcher of the Year Primrose Aholelei was excellent in the contest and allowed only two Cardinal baserunners until the sixth. A&M-Corpus Christi extended the lead to 3-0 on a bases-loaded error before the Lamar outburst.
 
Aleka Xayaseng led off with a triple and was plated on an Estella Garza sacrifice fly. A walk and a Kaylee Ancelot double put two runners in scoring position with one scoring on a fielder’s choice to cut the lead to 3-2, but Aholelei stranded those runners in place.
 
Lamar was able to advance the tying and winning runs into scoring position in the bottom of the seventh, but those runners were stranded with Aholelei’s punchout.
 
For A&M-Corpus Christi, Aholelei allowed two earned runs on four hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts to move to 19-12 on the season. The Islanders only had four hits, but two were for extra bases.
 
For Lamar, Ancelot went 2-for-3 with a double, while pitcher Aaliyah Ruiz gave up three earned runs on four hits with five strikeouts and four walks to fall to 13-12 on the season.