PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi needed two different approaches to sweep Prairie View on Tuesday afternoon. The Islanders thumped the Panthers in the opener 15-0 and needed a come from behind performance in game two to win 9-7.
The Islanders (11-30) notched 27 hits on the afternoon to split the season series with the Panthers (19-26).
"It's really good to get two wins out on the road," head coach
Blake Miller said. "Our pitchers kept them in check during the first game, and our hitters kept pouring it on. It gave us confidence and they came right back in the second game. The pitchers bounced back from a tough start, but started knocking down batters. The hitters kept going and got some runs to put the game away in a fashion we have not been able to do this year with clutch hitting with two outs."
Corpus Christi tallied 14 RBI with two out and hit .410 with runners in scoring position.
GAME 1
With the game already in hand going into the seventh inning, the Islanders broke open the floodgates with eight runs on six hits, highlighted by a
Liz Carter grand slam. All eight runs came with two outs
Coming off Southland Conference pitcher of the week laurels, Carter dominated with six strikeouts in a two-hit shutout. The senior worked through her 22nd complete game of the season in just 100 pitches and allowed the Panthers to put a runner in scoring position once all afternoon. With five shutouts on the season, Carter tied herself for seventh in the single-season record book.
The Islanders broke the deadlock early in the second without putting a hit on the board.
Megan Mitchell drew a hit by pitch and moved
Aspen Auger over to second. A long fly ball from
Lacey Boyd was deep enough to advance the runners. An error by Panthers left fielder Kiara Ross off the bat of
Lexi Shaw gave the Blue and Green a 2-0 lead.
Carter handled the Prairie View lineup, as the Corpus Christi bats were silent through the third and fourth innings.
Kandace Johnson put the Blue and Green in front by three with an RBI single up the middle, before
Mackinzee Griebel scored from second on a throwing error during the next batter.
Corpus Christi struck for three in the sixth.
Jade Torres came in from third on
Alexis Richardson's bloop single to left.
Mackinzee Griebel extended the advantage to 7-0 with a groundball to center to plate a pair of runs.
Carter and Hadd started the seventh with a walk and single, respectively.
Aspen Auger opened the scoring with an RBI single to left, before Mitchell singled to bring in another run during the next at-bat.
Following a Boyd single, Richardson drove the first pitch of her at bat to centerfield to plate a pair. Griebel walked to load the bases for Carter, who drilled a 1-1 pitch over the wall in left for the first grand slam of her career.
GAME 2
While game one was a blowout from the start, the Islanders had their work cut out for them in the finale, battling back from a two-run deficit to score four over the final two innings.
In the first,
Kandace Johnson opened her 3-for-5 outing by singling to left to score
Savannah Sandoval from second. Two batters later,
Candice Hadd made it 2-0 Islanders on an RBI single. Corpus Christi added two more runs before the top half came to close with RBI singles from
Aspen Auger and
Mariah Clay.
Avoiding the rout from the opener, Prairie View fired back with four runs in the bottom of the first, including three runs on back-to-back home runs.
Following a leadoff double by Sandoval in the second,
Mackinzee Griebel singled to left to put the Islanders back on top.
The Panthers homered four times on the afternoon to score six runs. Kylar Ward-Flowers tied the game with her second solo shot of the game in the third. An inning later, Destinee Williams sent the hosts into the lead with a two-run home run in the fourth.
Johnson (2-15), who started in the circle for the Blue and Green, threw 5 1/3 innings, scattered nine hits.
Liz Carter came in for a brief spell in the second for 1 2/3 innings.
Despite surrendering seven earned runs combined, the pitching duo sparked the comeback for the Islanders. Carter drove a 1-2 pitch up the middle to plate Griebel from second, before Hadd tied the game at 7-7 on a single to left.
In the top of the seventh,
Lexi Shaw was hit by a pitch and Griebel drew a walk. Johnson lined the first pitch of her at bat over the head of the centerfielder to send the Blue and Green to the win with two runs.
ON DECK
The Islanders will travel to Thibodaux, La., to face Nicholls for a three-game set in the Southland Conference.
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- Go Islanders -
