Box Score BEAUMONT, Texas – A late push by the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi fell short of tying Saturday's game on the road at Lamar, as the Cardinals completed the sweep of the Islanders with a 4-3 win.
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Colleen Bentke earned the start for the Blue and Green (13-26, 3-15). After a pair of strong innings to start the game, the College Station native saw her day come to an early end in the third.
Lamar etched four runs on the board, capped by a Stephanie Meeuwsen two-RBI triple to left. Bentke exited after 2 1/3 innings after giving up four earned runs on five hits with a pair of walks and one strikeout.
Liz Carter came on in relief for the final 3 2/3 innings to retire 11 of the 13 batters she faced. The Cardinals (27-15, 14-4) batters struggled mightily against the righty, as they struck out five times.
The Islanders outhit the hosts 6-4, but stranded seven on the base paths. Cosette Hernandez and Mackinzee Griebel accounted for four hits, with the latter notching her second multi-hit game of the weekend. Dani Tefft and Adrianna Farris added base knocks.
A&M-Corpus Christi began its comeback in the top of the fourth. Megan Mitchell brought home Farris on an RBI groundout to score the first run for the Islanders in three games. Brianne Trost and Griebel then executed a double steal to perfection with the latter drawing attention away from home for Trost to make it 4-2.
Hernandez brought the Islanders within one in the sixth inning with a single to shallow left. Griebel scored on the play and Megan Mitchell slid into home, only to be ruled out by the umpire.
Lauren Dannelley earned the win for the Cardinals with four hits and two unearned runs against. Laura Napoli picked up the save for her two-hit performance with one earned run, two walks and two strikeouts in the final three innings.
QUICK HITS
• With four hits on the weekend, Mackinzee Griebel jumped her batting average from .200 to .221 on the season and a .233 clip in conference play.
• The Islanders pitching staff now has 187 punchouts on the year, which is the highest total for a season since 2012. Junior Liz Carter is responsible for 125 of those strikeouts.
ON DECK
The Islanders head back out on the road next weekend for a crucial Southland Conference series with Houston Baptist.
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