The Sam Houston State University softball team traveled to Corpus Christi where the team split with the Islanders on Friday 7-1 and 0-1 but earned an 8-0 victory on Saturday.
Junior pitcher Tayler Atkinson threw a one-hitter in Saturday’s game and struck out 16 of the first 17 batters she encountered.
The Islanders managed their only hit of the game in the bottom of the sixth, but Atkinson struck out the next two batters and earned the run-rule win. Saturday’s win also earned the Bearkats their second consecutive conference series victory.
“I feel as if the season is finally starting to go the way we planned,” Atkinson said. “We had a bit of a slow beginning but we’re finally playing the way we should have been all along.”
Freshmen outfielder Bailey Watson hit a leadoff single in the top of the first inning and advanced to second base after senior in fielder Dani Allen hit a single. Watson made it to home plate after an error from the Islanders, the first of four errors for TAMUCC.
Junior in fielder Breanna Homer hit a two-run single to center field and with a point from freshman in fielder Codi Carpenter due to an Islander error, the Bearkats had a 3-0 lead by the end of the second inning.
In the top of the fifth Allen and Homer had consecutive doubles that added three more points for the Bearkats.
On Friday the Bearkats defeated the Islanders 7-1 in the first game but fell 1-0 in extra innings in the nightcap.
In the first game and in the top of the first, senior in fielder Katie Doerre hit a double to send Homer home and freshmen in fielder Ashley Goetz hit a single up the middle to earn the Bearkats a 2-0 lead.
Homer hit her eighth homerun of the season which also brought home Watson to concluded the third inning with a 4-1 lead.
“We’re all coming together,” Atkinson said. “Our hitters are getting their job done at the play and pushing runs across, our defense is solid and I feel like we are getting stronger in the circle every week.”
The Bearkats earned three more runs in the top of the seventh after a hit from Watson and two errors from the Islanders.
The nightcap was scoreless until the bottom of the second extra inning.
With two outs, the Islanders hit consecutive singles followed by a double to earn the only point of the night.
Freshman pitcher Lindsey McLeod pitched in the nightcap where she only allowed four hits in the first eight innings.
On offense the Bearkats could not manage a run and went 0-7 with runners in position to score.
The Bearkats have won seven of their last nine games and currently hold a season record of 14-23 and are 6-9 in Southland Conference play.
“We aren’t in a bad position,” Atkinson said. “ We just have to keep playing like we have been and win each series we have left. We can keep creeping out way up the ranking and make the tournament so we can prove ourselves.”
The Bearkats will have a non-conference double header in San Antonio Wednesday April 13 against the University of Texas at San Antonio.
They also will play in a conference series on Friday and Saturday at the Sam Houston Softball Complex where they will take on the Houston Baptist Huskies.