CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Heading into its final road Southland Conference series of the year, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi softball team faces Nicholls for a three-game set this weekend in Thibodaux, La.
The Islanders (11-30, 3-15) are riding a three-game winning streak into the penultimate conference series of the year after sweeping Prairie View on Tuesday. Corpus Christi drove in 14 RBI with two outs and hit .410 with runners in scoring position between the 15-0 and 9-7 victories.
Liz Carter smashed her first career grand slam in an eight-run seventh inning in the opener, in which six Islanders plated runs. Nine different players notched a hit in the first game, with
Alexis Richardson and
Candice Hadd leading the way with a pair of base knocks.
In the second game against the Panthers, the Blue and Green struck for four runs in the first, before needing to come from behind after the hosts tallied four home runs. Hadd and Carter tied game in the sixth with back-to-back RBI.
Kandace Johnson capped a 3-for-5 performance with two RBI on a double to give the Islanders the lead for good.
With three hits in the doubleheader at Prairie View,
Mackinzee Griebel has climbed to 11th in the Southland Conference with a team leading .327 at the plate this season. After her grand slam, Carter overtook Johnson for the team lead in RBI with 13 this season, while the latter has driven in 12 during her freshman season.
Carter is coming off her best week of the season, pitching 24 innings with 27 strikeouts and an ERA of 0.54. Along with her 2-1 record on the week, the Austin native earned Southland Conference Pitch of the Week laurels. The senior continued her run of form with a three-hit shutout, her fifth of the season, in the 15-0 win over Prairie View. Carter now leads the Southland in strikeouts with 145 this year.
The Colonels (30-17, 16-5) enter the weekend third in the league standings and second in tournament eligible teams. Nicholls dropped two of three last weekend to Northwestern State. Amanda Gianelloni is hitting .33 with a team-high 29 RBI, while slugging .479. Jackie Johnson ranks fourth in the league with an ERA of 2.15 and third in opponent batting average at .214.
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- Go Islanders -
