Seahawks split doubleheader
Published 9:32 pm Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Lamar State College-Port Arthur held off a charging Coastal Bend to take a 6-5 Game One win Wednesday afternoon but was unable to complete the sweep with a Game Two loss 12-10.
The Seahawks, now 10-17 overall this season, got out of the gates quickly in Game One, going up 1-0 after the first inning and 5-0 after three.
Loni Prouse reached for the Hawks on a walk and eventually came home on a Marci West sacrifice fly for the 1-0 first-inning lead. In the third, Bri Miller walked, Ricki Gilbert singled and both advanced bases on a Coastal Bend error. With two in scoring position, Prouse slapped a single to center field for a 3-0 advantage. A Lani Woods sacrifice and an Ashley Bunner single put runners at the corners. Brooke Whitley then collected a two-out single to plate both Prouse and Bunner for the 5-0 advantage.
Coastal Bend picked up a run in the fourth and added four more in the sixth to tie the game at 5-5, then held off the Seahawks at the plate heading into the final inning of regulation.
After a walk put the leadoff runner on base for Coastal Bend, Kim Villareal took the hill for the Seahawks and held CBC at bay with a strikeout against her first hitter. Then catcher Kelsey Richardson threw out a CBC stolen base attempt with Prouse snagging a line drive out in left field to end the inning.
Prouse came to the plate in the bottom of the seventh and singled, then Woods hit a hard ground ball to center field to move Prouse to second. She eventually went to third after Bunner hit a one-out fly ball to right field and came home for the win on a throwing error by CBC.
Prouse finished 2 for 3 with two RBI and three runs scored, while Gilbert and Bunner were each 2 for 4 with a run scored. Whitley was 1 for 3 with two RBI.
West worked six innings on the hill, allowing five earned runs on nine hits with one walk and one strikeout. Villareal got the win after working the final inning.
The Hawks dropped Game Two though nearly came from behind late to take the decision. After going up 2-0 in the first, the Hawks fell behind 6-2 heading into the bottom of the third. That’s when LSC-PA scored two more to close the game to 6-4. Coastal Bend scored three in the top of the fourth for a 9-4 lead but the Hawks responded with three in the bottom half of the stanza and one more in the bottom of the fifth for a 9-8 difference.
In the pivotal sixth inning, Coastal Bend put three more runs on the board for a 12-8 lead. The Seahawk responded with two in the bottom of the seventh, leaving Lamar State-Port Arthur just short of a comeback.
The Seahawks picked up 14 hits in the game, including home runs from Bunner and Kenady Magouirk. Woods had two doubles and Bunner a two-baser. Woods finished 3 for 3 with three RBI and two runs scored, while Gilbert was 3 for 4 and Bunner 2 for 5 with two runs scored and two RBI. Jordan Spivey went 2 for 3 at the plate with a run scored.
Four pitchers worked the mound with Taylor Harvill taking the loss. Each of the four gave up a home run to Coastal Bend, which also took advantage of three Hawk fielding errors to claim the win.
The Seahawks return to action this Saturday with a Region XIV road trip to Alvin College for a doubleheader with games at 1 and 3 p.m. The Hawks are home again in a weather make-up game against Blinn College with games at 1 and 3 on Tuesday, March 25. That game will be played at Port Arthur Memorial High School’s softball field.