Early Runs, 11 K's Highlight 5-0 Win

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – On a perfect day for softball, it was a near perfect performance for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi as the Islanders scored three first-inning runs and Liz Carter fired a complete-game shutout for a 5-0 rout of UTSA.
 
Carter (7-14) punched out 11 Roadrunners in her dominant outing, earning her seventh victory of the season. The right-handed ace limited the Roadrunners to just three hits on the afternoon, all singles. She also issued just a single walk, tossing an even 100 pitches for the win.
 
With Carter dealing in circle, the Islanders (8-28) made sure to capitalize with plenty of run support. The Blue and Green raced out with a three-run first as each of the first three Islanders to bat reached safely.
 
"It was a lot of fun to see her get that run support early," said head coach Blake Miller. "It allowed her to really settle down and go after hitters instead of worrying about being perfect. [Pitching well] is what she does, but it was nice to see her get that support and pitch with confidence."
 
Savannah Sandoval and Mackinzee Griebel opened the Islanders' day at the plate with back-to-back singles up the middle. That set the table for slugger Kandace Johnson to drive a two-run double into the right-center field gap.
 
Two batters later, Aspen Auger plated Johnson with a double of her own. Auger crushed a 1-0 offering soaring over the head of the UTSA right fielder.
 
"That set the tone," said Miller. "All of us were just like 'finally'. Those two table-setters got on and then our three-hole let the ball get deep and drove one in the right-center gap. Aspen came up and drove one in the same gap later. It's what I preach and to finally see them let the ball get deep and go drive it, that's just fun."
 
The Islanders would extend the lead in the bottom of the third. A hard-hit ball off the bat of Lacey Boyd bounded off the glove of the third baseman to open the rally. After Boyd moved to second on a groundout, Megan Mitchell drove in the Islanders' fourth run of the afternoon with a line drive into center field.
 
Candace Hadd added a sacrifice fly in the sixth to round out the Islanders' production at the plate. Hadd's RBI plated Mitchell as the Blue and Green added an insurance marker for the final 5-0 margin.
 
Fittingly, Carter would cap the shutout with a pair of strikeouts in a perfect seventh inning.
 
The win sends the Islanders into the weekend with momentum as the Blue and Green hosts Houston Baptist in a Southland Conference series. First pitch in Friday's doubleheader is set for 1 p.m.