SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi softball team clinched its fifth conference series win after outlasting UIW 4-2 and 6-1 in a doubleheader sweep on Friday at H-E-B Field.
After the two wins, and with Southeastern beating Northwestern State twice on Friday, the Islanders (23-24, 11-6) locked in the No. 3 seed for next week's Southland Conference softball tournament. It will be A&M-Corpus Christi's first appearance since 2015.
Both games against UIW (14-34, 4-13) opened with a home run in the first inning by an Islander to allow them to jump out to early leads. In game one, junior
Pal Egan led off with a double to right field, her 17th double of the season. With Egan on base, junior
Ashleigh Sgambelluri hit a home run to center field to go up 2-0 early.
Another home run by the Islanders happened in game one, with Egan getting the ball over the fence at right center for a solo home run and the 3-0 lead. UIW responded with a pair of runs in the fourth, cutting the deficit to only one run. The final score of the game came in the sixth when Sgambelluri stole home for the 4-2 eventual final score.
Game two featured back-to-back home runs in the first inning to have the Islanders jump out to an early lead again. With Egan and sophomore
Sydney Hoyt on base, sophomore
Gabriella Torres hit a deep home run to left field for the quick three-run lead. Next at the plate was junior
Haley Morse, who homered to the same spot for another Islander run and 4-0 lead in the first.
Egan scored a second time in the second inning after a sacrifice fly by Hoyt drove her in for the 5-0 lead. The only run by the Cardinals in game two came in the third after a single RBI scored a player to take the game 5-1.
A groundout by Torres in the fourth scored Hoyt for a second time in the game. With the score 6-1, both teams went scoreless for the remaining three innings to give the Islanders the doubleheader sweep.
Three pitchers saw action in the circle for the Islanders, with senior
Grace Gilbert and freshmen
Siarah Galvan and
Denay Smith. Gilbert earned the start and the win in game one after pitching for 4.1 innings. Galvan got the save in game one after entering the game to pitch in relief for the remaining 2.2 innings of the game. Gilbert and Galvan are the only two to record a save this season.
Smith started game two, going for 2.2 innings. Galvan made her second appearance of the day, entering game two in the third to keep the Cardinals scoreless through the remainder of the game and earn the win.
The regular season will conclude after game three of the series set for Saturday at 12:30 p.m. The Cardinals will hold its senior-day celebration, honoring their senior players. UIW will also honor A&M-Corpus Christi's seniors in a pregame ceremony.
Stay Social
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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