ROCK HILL, SC. ?- The sixth-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
softball squad slipped past third-seeded Liberty 1-0 before
slaughtering second-seeded Radford 17-1 in the opening day of the
Big South Conference Tournament, Thursday.
In the opener, Sarah Pauly (Phoenix, Ariz.) fanned 15 batters and
allowed just one hit in a complete game shutout against the
defending BSC Tournament champs. The sophomore notched her 16th
double-digit strikeout performance of the year.
The Islanders scored the lone run of the game in the top of the
fourth on an error by the Flames allowing Christy Cortez (Portland,
Tex.) to cross the plate.
?I think we were a bit nervous at the start ? this being our
first-ever conference tournament,? said Islander head coach Missy
Phillips-Dickerson. ?It took a bit for us to get going. With a
15-strikeout, one-hit effort, Sarah got the job done that we needed
her to do. It came down to the team who made the least amount of
mistakes.?
After managing only two hits in game one, A&M-CC exploded for
17 runs on 19 hits in the second game, both school records in the
route of the Highlanders. The top seven batters in the lineup, and
eight of the nine, registered multiple-hit games.
In the top of the third inning, Katie Evans (Tempe, Ariz.) and Eden
Goss (Richmond, B.C.) each hit two-out RBI doubles. Those hits were
followed by singles from Rachel Mendez (Sacramento, Calif.) and
Shelley Oetken (Round Rock, Tex.) to put the Islanders ahead
3-0.
The Highlanders scored once in the bottom of the third to pull
within two at 3-1. Goss ended Radford?s threat when she threw out
her second base stealer of the game.
The game remained close until a five-run barrage by the Islanders
in the top of the sixth, followed by nine more runs in the seventh
for the 17-1 win.
Cortez and Goss each drove in three runs, while Evans knocked in
two runs for A&M-CC. Evans, Oetken, and Janelle Sanders (Flower
Mound, Tex.) tallied three hits apiece for the Islanders and Kelly
Amos (Folsom, Calif.) scored three times in the win.
Pauly, 20-13, picked up her second win of the day after holding
Radford to one run and three hits in five innings of work. She
struck out six batters to bring her season total 366 on the year.
Dani Damel (Langley, B.C.) pitched the final two innings of
scoreless relief.
?They came out lights out in the second game,? said
Phillips-Dickerson. ?The nerves were definitely gone.
?We threw Sarah until we got a comfortable lead and then brought
Dani in to close the door,? continued the coach. ?It was a
tremendous team effort and they couldn?t have put a bigger smile on
my face with their performance tonight. We just made the proper
adjustments with every pitching change they made.?
The Islanders square off against top-seeded Coastal Carolina Friday
at 4:00 p.m. (CDT) in the winners bracket.
