ABILENE, Texas – Brittney Morse delivered a go-ahead grand slam in the top of the sixth inning to lift the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi softball team to a 5-3 victory over Abilene Christian on Saturday. The Islanders improved to 12-11 in Southland Conference play with one weekend remaining in the regular season.
A&M-Corpus Christi sits in sixth place, holding the final slot in the Southland Tournament, pending the outcome of this weekend's action involving Stephen F. Austin and Nicholls. The Ladyjacks had their opening game on Friday suspended after one inning, while the Colonels moved back their series to Saturday-Sunday due to inclement weather.
Morse went 1-for-3 in the contest, with her only hit being her second grand slam in the last four games, as she also delivered one against Texas State on Wednesday. The sophomore went 7-for-12 this week with three home runs, three doubles and 11 RBI.
Liz Carter went the distance in the circle, allowing seven hits and two walks in her seven innings, notching a pair of strikeouts and surrendering three runs. Emily Seidel also went the distance in a losing effort for ACU, surrendering eight hits and five runs in seven innings.
Dani Tefft went 3-for-3 for the Islanders offensively, while Mickayla Cochran also delivered two hits in the win. Taylor Brown had a two-hit game for the Wildcats, while Peyton Hedrick hit a two-run homer for ACU as well.
For the third time in as many games, A&M-Corpus Christi was the first to crack the scoreboard. Lindsey Lyles led off the third by being hit by a pitch, and Tefft followed with an infield single to put two on and nobody out. After a sac bunt, Mackinzee Griebel lined a ball to right center, but was robbed of extra bases on a running catch by Brianna Barnhill. Nonetheless, Lyles was able to tag up and score the first run of the game, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Carter was cruising on the other side, rolling through the first 2 2/3 innings with the only blemish against her a well-placed bloop single. But the Wildcats rallied with two down in the third, with Brown slicing a two-out triple to deep left. Hedrick followed and lined a ball down the right-field line, and it narrowly cleared the fence and bent around the foul pole for a two-run homer and a 2-1 ACU advantage.
The Wildcats manufactured another run in the bottom of the fourth, as Holly Neese beat out and infield single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and advanced to third on a groundout. Alyson Bishoff followed with a single up the middle, plating Neese to make it 3-1.
The score remained that way until the top of the sixth, when Morse came through for the Islanders. Prior to Morse's big fly, it was small ball that started the frame, with Cosette Hernandez singling up the middle and Griebel registering an infield single on a slow chopper to short. Cochran followed with a chopper back to the pitcher, but used her hustle to beat out an infield single and load the bases. Morse got ahead in the count 3-0, took a strike and obliterated the 3-1 offering through the wind and off the scoreboard for a grand slam and a 5-3 Islanders edge.
Carter worked her way around a single and a walk in the sixth, closing out the inning with a strikeout and a popout. Then in the seventh, she sent the Wildcats down in order with two groundouts and a foulout to end the game and give the Islanders the series.
The Islanders will return to action next weekend, as they wrap up the regular season with a three-game series against Incarnate Word at Chapman Field. The two teams will play a single game on Friday at 3 p.m., with a doubleheader slated for Senior Day on Saturday starting at noon.
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