Highlights From The Final Day of the Southland Conference Softball Tournament

Here are the highlights from the final day of the Southland Conference Softball Tournament.

Game 9  (1) Texas A&M Corpus Christi 8  (4) McNeese State 6

Texas A&M Corpus Christi (A&M-CC) Islanders advanced to the championship game by defeating the McNeese State Cowgirls 8-6.

Catcher Brittany Tucker (1-4) hit a three-run homerun in the top of the seventh that capped a 4 run rally for the Islanders.

They struck first in the top of the first on a error by firstbaseman Claire Terracina that allowed secondbaseman Caley Jeter (3-4) to score from second. The Huntsville native led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a ground out by centerfielder Hannah Schwarz (2-4).

Thirdbaseman Kacie Smith’s (1-3) three-run homerun in the top of the third increased the lead to 4-0.

The Cowgirls got on the board in the bottom of the fourth on a RBI double by shortstop Molly Guidry (2-4).

They pulled within one in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run homerun by catcher Stacey Conley (2-3). She would give them the lead in the bottom of the sixth on a two-out two-run single.

The rally started for the Islanders in the top of the seventh when pinch-hitter Laura Phillips singled with one out for leftfielder Cassie Redman (0-2). Redman would come back in to run for Phillips and advanced to second on a single by Jeter. With two outs, Schwarz tied the game at 5-5 on a two-run single. That set up Tucker for the three run blast to leftcenter that gave the Islanders the lead.

 “I was looking for a good pitch to hit and the count was 2-0,” Tucker said. “The pitcher had to throw a strike in that situation and I was ready for it.”

Jordan Trujillo pitched 2 2/3 innings in relieve and got the win for the Islanders and starting pitcher Megan Bond got the lost for the Cowgirls.

The Islanders (3-1) would faced the Texas State Bobcats (3-0) in the championship match and would need to win two games in order to claim the title while the Bobcats would only need to win one game.

Game 10 Championship Game (3) Texas State-San Marcos 8 (1) A&M-CC 5

The Texas State Bobcats won the 2011 Southland Conference Softball Tournament by defeating A&M-CC Islanders by the score of 8-5. It was their fifth title in their history and their second in the last three years.

The Islanders struck first in the bottom of the first on catcher Brittany Tucker’s (2-3) solo homerun. She blasted a two-run homerun off the scoreboard in the bottom of the third to give them a 3-0 lead. It was her second of the game and third in three consecutive at-bats tying the Southland Conference Tournament record.

The Bobcats exploded for five runs in the top of the fifth that made it 5-3. Centerfielder Allyce Rother (2-3) led off the inning with a single. Leftfielder Lindsay Matt (1-3) followed with a walk. Then starting pitcher Chandler Hall (2-3) followed with a single to load the bases. Then with one out, Rother scored the first run on a throwing error by shortstop Lauren Dodson. Thirdbaseman Jenna Emery (1-3) hit a two-run single and the extra run was scored on a error by centerfielder Hannah Schwarz making it 4-3. Then second baseman Anna Hernandez (1-2) hit an RBI double capping a 5 run inning. They would add three more runs in the top of the sixth to make it 8-3.

The Islanders would score two runs in the bottom of the sixth that made it 8-5.

Chandler Hall went the distance for the Bobcats and got the win while starting pitcher Greta Cecchetti suffered the loss for the Islanders. Hall was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament.

“It’s awesome to win the Southland Conference Tournament,” Hall said. “It was 100% team effort and we did a great job this weekend.

Caley Jeter had a spectacular tournament for the Islanders coming up with key clutch hits that help them advance to the championship game. She was among the three Islanders that made the All Tournament Team while the Bobcats had five including Hall.

According to Jeter, “I did not imagine being here when I starting playing for the Islanders and to end my career in the Southland Conference Tournament is great for me.”

The win gave the Bobcats an atomatic bid to the NCAA tournament and they will find out who their next opponent will be tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. on the NCAA Softball Tournament Selection Show on ESPNU.

To see the highlights of the championship game, go to the website: www.southland.org and click on the SLC Now Logo. It is free for everyone that is a member institution of the Southland Conference. Register now.