Box Score

HUNTSVILLE – Sophomore Brooke Malia blasted her fifth home run of the season to break a scoreless tie in the fifth to lead Sam Houston State to a Southland Conference series sweep over Houston Baptist with an 8-0 victory in six innings at Bearkat Softball Complex Saturday.

The Bearkats (19-19 overall, 11-4 in SLC) got another strong outing from senior Lindsey McLeod in the circle. A day after striking out a single-game school record 17 batters, she notched nine strikeouts to improve to 12-7 on the season.

Saturday's game mirrored the series opener Friday. Both offenses struggled to get anything going at the plate.

Malia changed that with one swing. After junior Megan McDonald walked, Malia sent a shot over the wall in left to make it 2-0 in the fifth inning.

Sam Houston State broke it open in the sixth. Senior Ashley Goetz led off with a double, and sophomore Bailey White singled down the left-field line. Sophomore Sheridan Fisher brought in a run with an infield single, and junior Taylar Fuselier loaded the bases with a single to left.

The Bearkats put it away after that. McDonald hit an RBI single, and junior Tiffany Thompson drove in two more with a double to make it 6-0. Goetz came back around to bat and sealed the run-rule victory with a two-run single.

Sam Houston State continues its homestand with a nonconference game against UT Arlington Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.