CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi softball team knew they would be facing a tremendous challenge this weekend against Southeastern, La. The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi softball team was right.
Behind the Southland Conference's leading pitching staff as well as the leading offense, the Lady Lions took the first two games of a three-game series Friday at Chapman Field, 3-0 and 9-2.
SLU (32-7 overall, 9-2 SLC) took Game 1 behind a combined two-hit shutout from Cera Blanchard and MC Comeaux. Blanchard lowered her SLC-leading ERA to 1.07 by tossing six innings of one-hit, shutout ball. She walked three and struck out four, with the lone hit off her coming in the sixth inning on a bloop double by
Taniece Tyson.
"Blanchard is the real deal," TAMU-CC coach
Kathleen Rodriguez said. "She is a strong competitor with strong movement and ball control. We knew how good she was coming in, no surprise there. We need to do a better job of adjusting from one pitch to the next."
Comeaux relieved Blanchard (12-1) in the seventh inning and got her third save with one inning of one-hit relief.
Sidney Campion tripled with two outs in the seventh inning for the only other Islanders hit, but she was stranded there on a pop up to end the game.
Primrose Aholelei took the loss in Game 1 after allowing all three runs on eight hits and six walks. The SLC's leading strikeout artist added six more to her total during her 130-pitch effort. All three runs against her scored with two outs, and all three were aided by something the Lady Lions do better than any other team in the country: steal bases.
SLU swiped five bases in Game 1, including one in the second inning when the Lady Lions scored twice, and again in the sixth when they added an insurance run. But they were just getting started.
The Lady Lions stole eight bases in Game 2, giving them an NCAA-best 114 steals this season. Coincidentally, the Islanders (19-13, 7-7) also played the team SLU passed with their outburst, Jackson State, which has 109 steals.
All the speed and chaos the Lady Lions display on the basepaths led to four TAMU-CC errors. Yet behind the stalwart effort of sophomore pitcher
Ariella Saenz, the Islanders trailed by just one heading to the seventh.
SLU followed a similar path as in Game 2, scoring twice in the third inning and once more in the fifth for a 3-0 lead. Saenz gave up just two earned runs on four hits and two walks through six innings against a team batting .350 and scoring more than six runs a game. She even had a chance at a possible victory when Tyson singled in the only two Islander runs of the day in the bottom of the fifth inning.
But after a quiet inning for both teams in the sixth, the Lady Lions exploded in seventh.
SLU scored six times on five hits, five stolen bases, three walks, two errors and one passed ball. By the time the smoke cleared, SLU had a 9-2 lead and a stranglehold on the series.
"Ari threw a good game," Rodriguez said. "She competed well today. A team like SLU will capitalize on every error made. We need to play high-level catch and make routine plays."
After collecting just two hits in the opener, the Islanders have five in the nightcap.
Crystal Davila doubled, while Tyson,
Sydney Hoyt,
Kimane Rogron and
Felixia Hinojosa all singled.
The Islanders will get one more chance to take a game from the Lady Lions with the series finale at noon Saturday at Chapman Field. Game 3 likely will be a rematch of Game 1, with Aholelei facing Blanchard one more time.
"We will watch our at-bats tonight, eat a good meal, get a good night sleep, regroup and be better tomorrow," Rodriguez said.
TAMUCC (19-13, 7-7 SLC)
Friday, April 5 – vs. Southeastern, La., L (3-0)
Friday, April 5 – vs. Southeastern, La., L (9-2)
Saturday, April 6 – vs. Southeastern, La. (32-7, 9-2), Noon, Chapman Field, Corpus Christi
On Deck: Following the series with SLU, the Islanders will play Lamar in a three-game conference series on Friday-Saturday, April 12-13 in Beaumont, Texas. There will be a doubleheader on April 12 beginning at 3 p.m., then a single game Saturday beginning at noon.
Home again: The Islanders will return home on Friday, April 26 to begin a three-game conference series with defending SLC champion McNeese. The teams will play a doubleheader beginning at noon on Friday, April 26, then play a single game beginning at noon on Saturday, April 27.
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