? Game 1 box score
? Game 2 box score
| |
| Sophomore Dany? Holmes tossed a five-hit shutout with eight strikeouts in Tuesday's first game. |
CORPUS CHRISTI ? Sophomores Dany? Holmes and Emily Humpal tossed a pair of shutouts and junior Rudi Cantu and freshman Amber Anderson collected three hits apiece to help lead UTSA to 6-0 and 8-0 victories at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday afternoon in the Southland Conference-opening doubleheader for both teams.
The Roadrunners improved to 7-7 on the season with the first back-to-back league-opening shutouts since 2006. The Islanders fell to 7-10 and 0-2.
Holmes, a left-hander from Sugar Land, struck out eight and allowed just five hits and a walk in the opener, while Humpal, a righty from nearby Flour Bluff High, fanned a pair and scattered four hits in the nightcap. The pitching duo combined for 10 Ks against two bases on balls and gave up just nine hits, including only one for extra bases, in 13 innings of work.
“Dany? and Emily were outstanding today,” fourth-year head coach Lori Cook said. “Dany? really had things going in the first game and the strikeouts were up there. Emily was very solid in the second game and our defense was really, really good in both games. Corpus has a lot of left-handed slappers with a lot of speed, but we did a great job keeping them off base today.”
Meanwhile, the UTSA bats tallied 14 runs on 19 hits, including four doubles, in the twinbill. Cantu went a combined 3-for-9 with two runs and a pair of RBIs, while Anderson was 3-for-7 with three runs and two RBIs.
“It’s always good to start conference play off with two wins,” Cook said. “This is a tough place to play and the conditions weren’t very good today with the wind blowing in so hard. We did a good job not letting that bother us at the plate, though, and were able to keep the ball down and hit the gaps.”
Game one was a pitcher’s duel until the Roadrunners put up a three-spot in the top of the fifth inning. Cantu led off the frame with an infield single and freshman Ashley Kappler followed with a bunt single in front of the catcher. Anderson followed with a base hit into center field to plate her fellow Alvin High classmate with the game’s first run. Holmes then drew a walk to load the bases and senior Leanne Risberg showed patience by earning the easy RBI with a second consecutive free pass. Anderson came home with the third run when sophomore Kristin Kappler grounded a fielder’s choice to third base.
UTSA tacked on three more runs in the seventh. Holmes drew a leadoff walk, Risberg singled and Kristin Kappler walked with one out to load the bases. After Holmes was forced out at home on a fielder’s choice, junior Kelly Cato, who was named SLC Hitter of the Week earlier in the day, was hit by a pitch to force home Risberg. Cantu then singled to right to drive in Kappler and junior Krista Sitka and give the Roadrunners a 6-0 advantage.
That was more than enough cushion for Holmes, who ran her record to 3-2 with her second blanking of the year.
Stacie Tassin (3-6) took the loss for the Islanders, allowing three earned runs on five hits in four innings.
Game two was more of the same for the Roadrunners with timely hitting, solid pitching and steady defense.
Kristin Kappler helped stake UTSA to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-out double down the right field line that plated Anderson, who singled through the right side of the infield, and with the benefit of an error by the right fielder Risberg, who reached on a base hit to center.
Anderson drew a one-out walk in the third and scored on a double to center by Risberg. Humpal then drove in the New Orleans native on a single to left to make it 4-0.
UTSA added two more in the next frame behind a double by Cato and a single by Cantu and then put the eight-run rule into effect with a pair of runs in the sixth, highlighted by an RBI-double from freshman Caitlyn Ivy.
Humpal, who improved to 3-4 with her first shutout of the year, and the Roadrunners defense kept the Islanders off the base paths, limiting them to just four hits, including a double by Landry Moore for the only extra-base hit of the afternoon.
Game three is slated for 1 p.m. on Wednesday.