NATCHITOCHES, La. – Amy Gunnells' bloop single to right field scored Hayley Parker in the bottom of the 13th as Central Arkansas defeated the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi softball team 1-0 in the opening round of the Southland Conference Tournament. The game marked the longest in the history of the Southland tourney.
UCA strung together three straight singles in the bottom of the 13th to end the marathon pitcher's duel. Parker delivered a one-out single to right, and Ashley Boswell followed with a liner just past the glove of Hayley Galloway to put runners at the corners. Gunnells followed and lofted a soft fly to right, but Mickayla Cochran's diving effort came up just short as the Bears came away with the win.
Kylee Studioso was stellar in the victory for UCA (32-19), allowing just four hits and one walk in 13 innings of work to go along with 15 strikeouts. Liz Carter was carded with a tough-luck loss for the Islanders (20-27-1), going 12 1/3 innings with 12 hits and three walks allowed. Carter forced the Bears to strand 16 runners on base.
Carter was strong from the get-go, flirting with danger in every inning, but repeatedly buckling down and getting away with no damage. She stranded two in the first and fourth, and one each in the second, third and fifth, ending both the first and second innings with a strikeout. She posted her first 1-2-3 inning in the sixth.
Studioso was dominant early on, setting the Islanders down in order in the first, second and third. A&M-Corpus Christi got its first base runner in the top of the fourth, with a Cosette Hernandez walk, but a line-drive double play ended the threat. In the fifth, Carter delivered the first hit of the contest, but was stranded on first to end the inning. Hernandez added a sixth-inning single, but Studioso was able to work around that as well.
The Islanders went quietly in the seventh, but the Bears got a rally going in the bottom of the frame. A hit batter and a walk put two runners on and nobody out, and a single up the middle followed to load the bases. Briana Whisenhunt followed and lofted a flyball down the left-field line. Dani Tefft caught it in foul territory, and then fired the ball to the plate, with Brittney Morse tagging out Brianna McArthur for a double play. Sarah Bigej followed with a groundout to send the game to extras still scoreless.
In the eighth, the Islanders went down 1-2-3, and then UCA tried to start a rally once again. Back-to-back singles by Hannah Stirton and Audrey Pratt put two runners on and one away. But Carter got a check-swing groundout from pinch-hitter Ryan Holdiness and then a groundout from Ashley Boswell to end the threat.
Inning after inning passed with neither team able to scratch a run across. The Islanders had a strong opportunity to take a lead in the top of the 10th, with Cochran and Morse hitting back-to-back singles to open the frame. Carter followed with a strikeout, and then Jessica Mendez hit a ball to deep right center that was caught, but sent Cochran to third. Studioso then got Hayley Galloway swinging to end the frame. That was as close as either team would get to scoring until the decisive 13th.
The Islanders will now face an elimination game on Thursday, May 7, at 11 a.m. against the loser of the final game of day one of the Southland Tournament. Live stats and video will be available on Southland.org and updates will be provided on Twitter (@IslandersSBall). Be sure to download the Islanders Front Row App at GoIslanders.com/FrontRow for live stats, video and more.
