THIBODAUX, Louisiana - For the first time since 2011, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi softball program has won seven games in a row after dominating Nicholls in 16-0 and 10-2 decisions on Friday at Swanner Field.
Game one featured A&M-Corpus Christi's (19-22, 7-4) fourth straight shutout win over a conference opponent. Led by senior
Grace Gilbert, who pitched for another complete-game shutout, the Islanders silenced the Colonels (10-31, 2-9) to easily take game one within five innings.
Through five innings of work, Gilbert struck out three hitters and only allowed one hit to record her third win within a week and second complete-game shutout. She improved to 6-8 with a 3.85 ERA. Gilbert is the reigning SLC Pitcher of the Week.
Two big offensive performances in the second and third innings helped the Islanders take charge early, scoring seven runs in each to take the commanding 14-0 lead. Sophomore
Haley Morse led off in the second with a single to center field to start things off. Junior
Ashleigh Sgambelluri got walked soon after, bringing sophomore
Gabriella Torres to the plate who singled to right field and drove in Morse for the first run of the day.
With bases loaded and only one down, three Islanders consecutively got a hit to score four more runs. First, a single by junior
Quinn De Avila drove in Sgambelluri, then, a double by junior
Pal Egan scored all three runners on base, and finally, a single by freshman
Monee Montilla put herself and Egan in scoring position. Morse headed back to the plate and earned her second hit of the inning to score Egan and Montilla. She was thrown out at second base to end the inning, but secured the 7-0 lead before heading to the third.
De Avila's second hit of the game was a double down the third base line to score freshman
Jaquelin Garza. Up 8-0, Egan followed up De Avila with a two-run homer to left field, taking the game to 10-0. After Egan, Montilla was walked to get on base and bring sophomore
Sydney Hoyt to the plate who also hit a two-run home run to left field for A&M-Corpus Christi's 12-0 lead.
The last two runs of the game came in the fifth, when Morse doubled to right center to score De Avila and Hoyt and finish the game with the 14-0 win.
Game two started out with a bang as the Islanders completed a cycle in the first inning. Leading off, Egan homered to left field again on a full count to quickly go up 1-0. Then, a single by Morse, a double by Sgambelluri and a triple by Torres gave the Islanders the 3-0 lead leaving the first inning.
Four more hits in the second inning, including one from sophomore
Alexandria Torres, scored three more for the Islanders, making it 6-0 before the Colonels got on the board for the first time in the next half inning. The game remained 6-1 until the fourth where the Islanders scored two more after hits by Sgambelluri and junior
Madison Garza. Nicholls managed to tack on another run in the fifth, but back-to-back doubles by Sgambelluri and G. Torres helped give the game its final score of 10-2 and the day's second mercy-rule finish.
Between the two games, six different Islanders recorded multi-hit games. De Avila went 3-for-3 in game one while Sgambelluri went 4-for-4 in game two and both scored three runs in the respective games. Egan recorded a total of three hits and six RBIs and is now on an 18-game streak of reaching base.
Game two's win helped surpass the 2021 season's win count. It marks the first season to have at least 19 wins since 2015.
A&M-Corpus Christi has now won its third conference series, but will go for its second conference series sweep in game three against Nicholls on Saturday at 12 p.m.
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For more information on Islanders Softball, keep up with the team via their Facebook page (
Islanders Softball) and follow the program on Twitter (
@IslandersSball) and Instagram (
islanderssball).Â
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