ABILENE – Abilene Christian softball won its fourth-consecutive Southland Conference series Friday with a doubleheader sweep of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Poly Wells Field. The Wildcats won by scores of 11-0 (5) and 7-2 in improving to 20-14 overall and 10-1 vs. the league, while the Islanders fell to 6-22 and 1-7.
ACU and Corpus Christi are scheduled to play game three of their series Saturday at noon; however, there is a chance of thunderstorms during the early afternoon hours.
Game 1 – ACU 11, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 0 (5 innings)
Sidney Holman pitched a five-hit, complete game shutout of the Islanders in an 11-0 win and her seven strikeouts gave her 100 for the season. The freshman from Belton, Texas additionally did not allow a runner past second base as she improved to 13-3 on the season and lowered her ERA to 1.95 behind her fifth shutout of the spring.
Three of Holman's strikeouts were against the Islanders' leading hitter Mackinzee Greibel. She also got shortstop Lacey Boyd to twice look at strike three and whiffed both of the Islanders' second basemen: Candace Hadd and Megan Mitchell.
ACU's offense supported Holman with a
Brianna Barnhill solo home run in the first inning that was her fifth of the year, and then the Wildcats posted four runs in the second and six in the third to register their fourth run-rule victory of the spring (and second this season vs. the Islanders). The Wildcat beat Corpus Christi, 10-0, earlier this season at Texas State in five innings on Feb. 11.
Ten Wildcats batted in the second inning with RBI hits provided by
Alyson Bishoff,
Taylor Brown and
Holly Neese. Bishoff doubled in
Kaleigh Singleton with a bloop shot down the left-field line, and after
Alli Spivey singled through the legs of pitcher Liz Carter, Brown drove two runs in with her 200th career base hit. Brown would later score on Neese's single through the left side, and again in the third on Hedrick's bases-loaded double to left-center field that made it a 9-0 game.
Barnhill followed Hedrick's hit with her third triple of the year, and she scored two batters later on
Casey-May Huff's infield single to shortstop to cap the Wildcats' scoring run.
ACU ripped 13 base hits off Carter, five of which were for extra bases. Barnhill, Hedrick, Singleton and
Braegan Hamilton all recorded two base hits, while three players scored two runs. The top of the order – Brown, Hedrick and Barnhill – was responsible for much of the offense as they went a combined 5-for-10 with five runs and seven RBI.
Game 2 – ACU 7, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 2 (Game 2)
Taylor Brown went 3-for-4 with two runs and an inside-the-park home run in supporting
Hannah Null's six-strikeout complete game, in which she scattered five hits and allowed two unearned runs to lower her season ERA to 3.32.
The first run allowed by the Wildcats today was the result of an errant throw by catcher
Blair Clayton after Null thought she ended the fourth inning with a punch out of Candice Hadd, who swung at a ball in the dirt. Clayton fielded the ball cleanly, but her throw hit Hadd in the back of the helmet, allowing Mackinzee Griebel to score from third base. The Islanders then cut the Wildcat lead to 6-2 in the fifth on Griebel's infield single, but with two on and one out Null got the Islanders' No. 3 three and four hitters to pop up to shortstop
Peyton Hedrick.
Hedrick was credited with two of the final three put outs in the seventh inning and threw Griebel out at first (with a runner on third) to end the game after an efficient 95 minutes of play.
Brown's inside the park shot was her second of the spring and came with one out in the sixth inning. The senior center fielder flew out of the batter's box on contact as she watched the ball roll to the wall in right-center fielder, splitting both outfielders. She was well past second base when the ball was retrieved, and was racing through third base when the ball finally reached the infield. Brown then slid behind catcher Mariah Clay, as the throw came in high, for the Wildcats' seventh and final run of the game.
Brown also scored in the first as part of a double steal with Hedrick after the Wildcats' shortstop reached on an error. Hedrick would then score on
Casey-May Huff's infield single RBI.
ACU made it a 4-0 game in the second. Designated player
Donelle Johnson hit her first of two doubles and scored after Clay threw the ball into center field trying to catch
Alli Spivey stealing second base. Spivey came home on Hedrick's single through the left side.
Johnson came through a second time for the Wildcats in the third when her double to left-center field with two outs made it a 5-0 game with Huff scoring on the hit. With two outs in the fourth inning,
Brianna Barnhill scored all the way from first base on pinch hitter
Tori Poullard's two-bagger to right-center field. Poullard tried to stretch her hit into a triple, but was thrown out a third base by Clay.
