Pitching Leads Islanders to Sweep of Dustdevils

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Early in every season, coaching staffs rely upon veterans to shake off the rust of the offseason and provide an example to the younger players on how to play at the collegiate level. After watching Liz Carter shut down Iowa twice over the weekend, freshman Colleen Bentke showed how quick of a learner she is. The rookie southpaw scattered four hits without allowing a run in six innings of work on Tuesday afternoon against Texas A&M-International at Chapman Field to earn her second career win.

Not to be outdone, Carter, who started the second game of the doubleheader, improved upon her opening weekend performance with a career day. The Austin native threw her third complete game of the year and 10th shutout of her career, while striking out a career best 14 batters. Alyson Bressie rewarded Carter's performance with a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh, as the Islanders (5-1) swept the midweek doubleheader with a pair of 1-0 wins.

RELATED: Box Score Game 1 | Box Score Game 2 | Photos | Highlights

"Today, we were trying to get some other people some innings and some at-bats for those who didn't get that much last weekend," said Hughes following the game. "I think it was just a total team effort. I've said it before that our pitching was going to be our strong point.

"These games can be trap games, but I was glad to see us buckle down defensively when we needed to. Colleen and Liz stepped up when we needed them to and threw some great pitches, which helped us come out on top in both games."

GAME 1, 1-0

In her first career start, Bentke gave the Dustdevils everything she had in her arsenal of pitches, retiring nine of the first 11 batters. Realizing that the College Station native would not allow a hit beyond the infield, A&M-International switched to the squeeze in the fifth inning.

The Dustdevils (7-10) put two runners in scoring position with two outs. Bentke forced a routine grounder to short to retire the side with just one pitch to become the fastest freshman to tally multiple wins in school history.

Katie Blanar came on in the top of the seventh to hold a runner at third to pick up her second career save after her first on March 25, 2015 at Houston.

In the circle for the Dustdevils, Brandi Giles was a strong adversary to Bentke. The A&M-International hurler threw six innings of five-hit softball. The Islanders managed to put three runners in scoring position through the first five innings, but could not collect that elusive go-ahead hit.

Adrianna Farris provided the necessary run support for Bentke and Blanar in the bottom of the sixth. The freshman from Spring shook off a 1-for-11 opening weekend to go 2-for-3 in the opening game of the series, which included an RBI single to center to plate Cosette Hernandez for the game-winning run.

GAME 2, 1-0

Picking up where she left off on Saturday against Iowa, Carter struck out eight of the first nine Dustdevils she faced, with the only player not a victim of punch-out harmlessly grounding out to short.

Brenda Parnin broke up Carter's perfect-game bid with a single up the middle. As a reward for the first hit against her in 5.1 innings, Carter retired the next three Dustdevils on 11 pitches.

Things did get dicey in the top of the seventh for the righty, as two runners reached base without an out. With poise and precision, Carter retired the side and added two strikeouts to top her previous career high by four.

"I was not expecting this kind of game," Carter said. "My warm-up was not the best either, so I went out there and got through the first inning. I needed to hit my spots. This team was scrappy, and those types of teams make things happen. I was not trying to rely on the strikeout, because I don't consider myself a strikeout pitcher. It was a little surprising that's how the game ended up going."

Offensively, the Blue and Green found it difficult putting runners in scoring position. Krystal De La Cruz allowed just two hits and struck out four for the visitors in four innings of work.

The Islanders had runners on second in the fourth and fifth innings, but could not advance them any further.

A&M-Corpus Christi was able to break the deadlock in the bottom of the seventh inning, when Bentke, who was pinch running for Aspen Auger, advanced to third on a throwing error on a Carter sacrifice bunt, bringing Bressie to the plate. Wasting little time, the Galva, Kan., native sent the first pitch she saw screaming back up middle for the walk-off single.

"Stepping up to the plate my last at bat, I was ready to swing away," said Bressie after the game. "The first time I faced her, she threw me a nice outside pitch, which is exactly what I wanted. I was so excited. I had a talk with Coach (Keith) Stein before the game about what I needed to do mechanically. I did exactly what he told me to do."

In her first start of the season, Bressie finished 2-for-3 with an RBI for her most productive outing as an Islander.

A PRETTY GOOD START

• The Islanders are tied for the best start since the 2005 season at 5-1.

• Of the 13 runs scored this season for the Blue and Green, 12 of them have come in the fifth inning or later. Defensively, the Islanders tighten down in later innings, as opponents have managed just two runs in the final two innings of play. 

ON DECK

The Islanders hit the road for their first road contest of the season at the UTSA Classic in San Antonio. The Islanders will face North Dakota twice, Virginia and Tulsa on the weekend, starting on Friday against the Cavaliers at 3 p.m. The Blue and Green will not return to Chapman Field until March 1 against UTSA. 

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