The No. 14 Temple College Leopards softball team took a six-game win streak into Wednesday's matinee doubleheader against Coastal Bend College.
The Leopards scored in the final seven innings of the twin-bill to sweep the Cougars.
Both games decided in five innings, Temple won by scores of 15-0 and 12-4.
After not scoring in the first two innings, the Leopards went to the tried-and-true small-ball game, ramping up the tempo on the Coastal Bend offense.
Jasmine Benavidez's bunt single scored Brooklyn Walton and Lexi Dudeczka, and scored when she stole third base and the throw ended up in left field. Kaiyah Ratu reach base on a ground out and Cottrell scored on an error. Izzy Garcia homered to make the score 5-0.
Garcia's effort in the circle was masterful, as she held the Cougars to three hits over five innings.
Temple blasted the game open with ten runs in the fourth inning. Walton's RBI single, Dudeczka's RBI double, Angie DeLeon's two-run homer, Autumn Simmons' pinch-hit RBI single, Ryley Litchfield's two-run single, Giselle Salazar's RBI single, Dudeczka's RBI triple, and Benavidez's RBI single gave the Leopards a 15-0 lead.
The Cougars could not score in the top of the fifth to conclude the game in run-rule fashion.
Temple crushed 16 hits, including seven extra-base hits. Dudeczka went 3-of-4 with two RBI, Benavidez went 2-for-4 with three RBI, and Walton went 2-for-2 with an RBI. DeLeon also had two hits and two RBI.
Garcia pitched four innings for the victory, having allowed three hits, five strikeouts, and two walks. Kat Kram pitched an inning of scoreless, hitless relief.
The Leopards continued to ransack Cougar pitching in the second game. In the bottom of the first, Cottrell's RBI groundout got the Leopards on the board. Benavidez scored on a passed ball, Garcia doubled home Kaiyah Ratu. And Maycee Griffin tripled home Garcia to make the score 4-0.
Temple added two more in the second inning, as Benavidez added an RBI triple and scored on Cottrell's sacrifice fly.
Carmen Perez's double got Coastal Bend on the board in the top of the third. Brianna Salazar added an RBI single, Perez stole home on a double-steal, and Miah Bocanegra's RBI single pulled the Cougars to within two, 6-4.
Temple answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Dudeczka and Cottrell contributed RBI singles, and Ratu's two-run double scored Cottrell and Benavidez to put Temple on top 10-4.
Marli Kennedy added a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, and Benavidez's single scored Dudeczka for the walk-off RBI.
Temple clubbed 16 more hits in game two. Dudeczka went 4-for-4 with an RBI, Benavidez went 3-for-3 with two RBI, Ratu went 3-for-3 with an RBI, Garcia went 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Cottrell added three RBI.
Dalanee Ekster picked up the win, pitched two innings, allowed four runs on five hits. Cottrell pitched three scoreless innings, allowed one hit, struck out two and walked one.
Dudeczka, the reigning NTJCAC Hitter of the Week, went 7-of-8 on the day, while Benavidez added a 5-for-8 performance.
The Leopards travel to Galveston on Saturday to take on No. 11 Galveston College (16-0).