Big Weekend Series in Corpus Christi
4/7/2016 10:28:00 AM | Softball
Back in the conversation about post-season play in the Southland tournament in Lake Charles in May after taking two of three games in last weekend's series vs. Southeastern Louisiana, the Sam Houston softball team travels to Corpus Christi for games Friday and Saturday.
The Bearkats and the Islanders will duel in a 1 p.m. doubleheader Friday then complete the series with a 12 noon single game Saturday.
The young Sam Houston team showed strong improvement last week, winning five of their six games. The Kats defeated Texas Southern and swept doubleheaders from Sun Belt member Louisiana-Monroe and Southeastern Louisiana before falling to the Lions 7-5 Saturday.
Two players, second baseman Dani Allen and catcher Katie Doerre, rank among the Southland's top 15 hitters. Allen, who brings an eight-game hitting streak into the weekend, owns a .406 season average. Doerre boasts a .387 batting mean that includes six multiple hit games including a 4-for-4 performance against Nicholls three weeks ago.
Doerre and third baseman Breanna Homer stand third and fourth in the league in slugging percentage. Doerre has a .693 season mark while Homer sports a .636 percentage. Homer has at least one hit in 14 of her last 16 games. She went 4-for-4 in last week's win over Texas Southern.
Sam Houston has been getting improved production in the circle as well from Lindsey McLeod, Taylor Atkinson and Jordan Franks. McLeod and Atkinson each have accounted for a pair of Southland Conference victories.
"We've said all along that this was a young team but a talented one," Sam Houston head coach Bob Brock said. "We saw what that talent can do last week. We've seen what we can do when we stay focused and play hard."
A&M-Corpus Christi is led at the plate by outfielder Dani Tefft who owns a .345 batting average. Third baseman Candice Hadd is also a threat with a .294 batting mean. Liz Carter is the Islanders' top pitcher with seven victories and 108 strike outs this year.
The two wins against the Lions pulled the Kats up to 10th place with a 4-8 league mark. A&M-Corpus Christi stands in eleventh with a 2-10 Southland record. Sam Houston is 12-22 for the season while the Islanders own a 12-21 record.
Following this weekend's action, Sam Houston will play a non-conference doubleheader at UTSA on Wednesday, April 13, then host Houston Baptist in a home Southland series Friday and Saturday, April 15-16.
