The Bearkats came out with a vengeance Saturday as they won both games of their doubleheader against Prairie View A&M University. Outscoring the Panthers 26-0 in both games combined, the Bearkats demonstrated the talent they possess, both offensively and within their pitching staff.In game one of the season opener, Sam Houston State unleashed the flood gates right off the bat, scoring six runs in the bottom of the first inning. With one run already on the board, senior Mandy Huckabee hit a two run homerun to give the Bearkats a 3-0 lead. Three batters later, junior Sarah Parich hit a two run blast to further extend the lead 5-0. The sixth run of the inning came with an error on the shortstop. The Bearkats fired up their bats once again when the second inning rolled around. With runners on second and third, freshman Whitney Wilson singled to left field to bring in two runs. Soon after that, Huckabee once again served up another two run homerun to give the Bearkats a 10-0 lead. The thirteenth run came in the bottom of the fourth inning when Wilson blasted a solo homer over the left field fence. With the crack of the bat, the Bearkats tied a school record with four homeruns in one game. The dominating pitching performance by junior Brandi Crnkovic not only showed her skill, it also helped place her name in the Sam Houston record books. In the five innings against Prairie View A&M, Crnkovic faced a total of fifteen batters. Out of the fifteen batters faced, she allowed no hits for a perfect game. As the final out was secured through a grounder to second base, Crnkovic recorded only the third perfect game in Sam Houston State softball history. At the end of game one, Sam Houston had 12 hits at 23 at bats, no errors, and a 13-0 win.In game two, Sam Houston State was leading 3-0 in the bottom of the third inning when the Bearkats finally broke out. With the bases loaded, freshman Alex Survant nailed a two-out triple over the head of Prairie View’s right fielder. Junior Kendra Spivey’s single scored Survant, and an RBI single to left field by sophomore Morgan Mikulin gave Sam Houston a 9-0 lead at the end of the third inning. The Bearkats found themselves with the bases loaded once again in the bottom of the fourth inning as Wilson doubled to center field to score Survant, Tiffani Woodrum, and Krystal Gay to give the Bearkats a 13-0 lead, which would be the final for game two. Sophomore pitcher Morgan Mikulin allowed only four hits in five innings against Prairie View A&M. At the end of the day, Sam Houston State combined for a total of 25 hits in 49 at bats, 25 runs batted in and only 1 error.The Bearkats will be carrying on their momentum as they play their next game on Wednesday in a re-match of their Division I regional playoff game against No. 2 Texas A&M University in College Station at 5 p.m.
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