With a third consecutive run-rule victory, Sam Houston picked up its first Southland Conference softball series sweep of the season with an 8-0 shutout of Incarnate Word Saturday afternoon.
Combined with 9-1 and 8-0 victories over the Cardinals Friday, the Bearkats upped their season record to 19-30 and took one step closer to nailing down one a berth in the Southland Tournament in Lake Charles with an 11-13 league mark.
Sam Houston totaled 25 runs on 31 hits including five doubles, three triples and three home runs in the series. Bearkat pitching allowed the Cardinals only one run and 14 hits in 15 innings of action. The contests completed the regular home schedule at the Softball Complex.
“These girls have been through a lot of ups and downs this season, but they've kept fighting. I'm really excited about the way we played this weekend,” Sam Houston head coach Bob Brock said. “We had four outstanding seniors play their final home game today and it was a big day for them.”
The game marked the final home appearance for seniors second baseman Dani Allen, shortstop Tiffany Castillo, catcher Katie Doerre and left fielder Jennie Kieval.
Allen started “Senior Day” off with a bang with a triple to right field in the bottom of the first inning. She scored on a single up the middle by third baseman Breanna Homer as the Kats went up 1-0.
A difficult catch by center fielder Bailey Watson that resulted in a double play got the Kats out of a jam in the top of the second inning. With the bases loaded and only out, Watson made the catch running backwards and over her shoulder, then relayed the ball to the infield for a double play to end the threat.
Doerre started a seven-run third inning for the Kats with a run-scoring single. First baseman Codi Carpenter added two more tallies with another RBI single. Then pinch hitter Hanah Marion chalked up her third home run of the year with a three-run shot off the scoreboard in left center. The other run in the frame came on a Cardinal error.
Taylor Atkinson allowed only five hits in four and a third innings to earn her eighth victory in the circle this year. She faced 18 batters. With runners in scoring position in the top of the fifth inning, Lindsey McLeod picked up the final outs with a pair of strike outs.
Sam Houston, Northwestern State and Houston Baptist all are fighting for the sixth and final spot in the tournament in two weeks in Lake Charles. The Bearkats entered Saturday's contest with a game-and-a-half lead over both teams. The Sam Houston women will complete the regular season with a three-game series at Stephen F. Austin next weekend.
