Sam Houston split on the softball team's first day of action in Clearwater, Fla., as the Bearkats fell to Illinois 13-7 then bounced back for a 1-0 victory over Central Michigan Friday.
The Kats are competing at the University of South Florida Under Armour Invitational this weekend. Sam Houston stands 5-9 for the year after today's action.
Lindsey McLeod pitched a two-hitter to pick up her third victory in the circle this season in the shutout of Central Michigan. McLeod struck out nine of the 26 CMU batters she faced and only walked one.
Sam Houston picked up six hits with designated player Katie Doerre going 2-for-3 in the victory. With the bases loaded and two outs, pinch hitter Hannah Marino was hit by a pitch to score Doerre for the winning run.
First baseman Codi Carpenter went 3-for-4 at the plate with a home run and a pair of runs batted in to lead Sam Houston in the loss to Illinois.
Sam Houston, now 4-9 in non-conference play, continued its hot hitting that the Bearkats started in Denton last weekend with 21 hits in their last two games. The Kats posted 14 hits against the Illini.
Second baseman Dani Allen and shortstop Ashley Goetz each had two hits. Center fielder Bailey Watson posted a two-run single and brought in another run with a sacrifice fly.
Illinois, now 9-6, started the scoring with an inside the park home run by first baseman Alyssa Gunther and a double and ground out RBI in the top of the opening inning. Sam Houston posted its first run on Carpenter's solo homer that led off the bottom of the second inning.
An RBI single in the fourth and a solo home run down the left field line in the fifth inning extended Illinois' lead to 4-1. Both teams scored a pair of runs in the sixth inning. Left fielder Jennie Kieval singled up the middle and Watson blasted her sacrifice fly to account for the Bearkats ruuns.
Things got crazy in the seventh inning with Illinois totaled seven runs on four hits and three errors in the top of the inning and the Kats adding five tallies on four hits and two errors in the bottom of the frame.
Taylor Atkinson started in the circle and took the loss after facing 31 batters in six innings. Jordan Franks pitched in the seventh inning.
"We got some good pitching in both games," Sam Houston head coach Bob Brock said. "We made some mental mistakes in the field in the Illinois game. But we're hitting the ball well. Hannah Marino took one for the team for the winning RBI in the second game. It was a good win."
Sam Houston will play East Carolina at 12:15 p.m. Eastern time and Villanova at 5 p.m. Saturday.
