Islanders pitchers Liz Carter and Stephanie Flores combined to shut out Sam Houston for 14 consecutive innings as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi swept a Southland Conference softball doubleheader 3-0 and 6-0 Friday at the Bearkat Softball Complex.
A&M-Corpus Christi already has clinched the series, the Islanders fourth Southland weekend series victory in a row. The two meet in a third game Saturday at 3 p.m. TAMUCC upped its record to 11-21 and 6-8 in league action while Sam Houston fell to 9-23 and 2-11 in league play.
The Islanders outhit the Kats 16 to nine in the two games. Sam Houston had scoring opportunities but left a combined 17 runners on base.
Catcher Brittney Morse broke open a scoreless game in the opener with a two-run single to centerfield in the top of the third inning. The shot scored centerfielder Mackinzee Griebel and third baseman Cosette Hernandez who led off the inning with consecutive singles. The Islanders added their third run in the fourth on a after second baseman Haley Galloway singled, was sacrificed to second on an error on a ground ball by Hernandez.
Sam Houston threatened in the bottom of the sixth inning, loading the bases with one out after a walk by designated player Hillary Adams and singles by catcher Tiffany Castillo and first baseman Sarah Allison. But a strike out and a pop fly to third base ended the opportunity.
Carter upped her season record in the circle to 8-12. Carter struck out five Bearkats and surrendered only five hits.
Meme Quinn (4-6) was the losing pitcher. Tayler Atkinson closed out the contest after Quinn was pulled with one out in the third inning.
The Islanders jumped out to another quick lead in the nightcap. Shortstop Jessica Mendez brought in two runs with a single in the bottom of the second inning. The hit scored right fielder Mickayla Cochran who doubled and first baseman Lindsey Lyles who reached first on an infield error.
The Kats again loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the third as left fielder Ashley Kopps reached on an error, second baseman Dani Allen singled through the middle and third baseman Peyton Webb singled to third base. But a strike out and a pop out ended the threat.
Mendez added a third run for A&M-Corpus Christi in the top of the fifth. After leading off the inning with a double down the left field line and being bunted to third, she scored on a ground out by left fielder Dani Tefft. Three Islander hits including an RBI single by Mendez and a pair of errors up the lead to 6-0 in the top of the sixth.
Flores struck out eight Bearkat batters while limiting Sam Houston to four hits to up her record to 2-7 in the circle. Haley Baros took the loss.
