CORPUS CHRISTI, TEX. --- Mike Bruner (Cedar
Rapids, Iowa) registered the program's first inside the park homer
and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi turned its' first ever triple play
en route to posting a convincing 13-2 victory over Prairie View
A&M in the first game of a doubleheader, Saturday. The
Islanders completed the three-game series sweep with a slim 4-3
come-from-behind victory win in the finale.
Bruner and Andres Gonzales (San Leandro, Calif.) led the five-run
uprising in the bottom of the sixth. Gonzales belted a pinch hit
three-run double to deep center field, just missing his first
career grand slam by inches. After Shawn Santos (Portland, Tex.)
knocked in Gonzales from third with a grounder, Bruner sent a rope
to right center. The senior was around second base before a Panther
fielder got to the ball and then was waved home. It was his first
homer of the year and second of his Islander career.
After Jonathan Colvin gave PVAM a 1-0 lead with a single that
scored Joseph Vaughn from third, the Islanders countered with two
in the bottom half of the frame. Humberto Aguilar (Odessa, Tex.)
and Bobby Mora (Corpus Christi, Tex.) ripped back-to-back run
scoring singles up the middle to give A&M-CC a 2-1 lead.
Leading 3-1, the Islanders put the game away with a four-run third.
Bruner and Blair Bourque (Taunton, Mass.) pulled off a successful
double steal in which Bourque trotted in from third. Two pitches
later, Jaime Landin (Brownsville, Tex.) launched his first homer of
the year, a two run blast to get the margin to 7-1. The sophomore
plated the Islanders' final run in the fifth with a triple to score
Bruner from first.
Trailing 7-1 in the fourth, Prairie View appeared ready for a big
inning after getting the first two batters on base. However,
Islander starter Jimmy Hamon (Pasadena, Tex.) induced Jon
Eschberger into a grounder to third. Landin stepped on the bag,
threw to second to James Garner (Corpus Christi, Tex.) and then the
junior completed the triple play with a throw onto Aguilar to get
Eschberger at first.
Hamon went the distance on a five hitter to improve to 7-2. The
senior walked one, while striking out nine batters en route to the
win. Hamon's nine strikeouts gives him 92 on the year, which breaks
his own single season school record of 84 set last season.
The Islanders had 12 hits in the victory, three coming from Mora.
Landin Garanzuay and Aguilar each accounted for two hits. Landin
and Gonzales drove in three, while Bruner knocked in two runs
himself.
Vaughn had two of PVAM?s five hits, which included a triple to lead
off the game. Larry Henderson fell to 1-10 on the year after
surrendering two earned runs in two innings of work.
Schlekewy's two run homer in the fifth inning provided the winning
margin in the finale. It was the junior's 11th blast of the
year.
The Panthers, who tumbled to 10-41, took the lead once again in the
opening frame on a single up the middle by Colvin.
With the game tied at 1-1, Bourque gave the Islanders the lead with
a solo blast in the second inning, his eighth of the campaign.
The Panthers, who outhit the Islanders 12-4, regained the advantage
on a two run homer by Brian Gonzales in the fourth.
Luis Alvarado (Caracas, Venezuela) went the distance on a 13-hitter
to improve to 2-0. The redshirt junior fanned seven batters without
issuing a walk.
A&M-CC, now 29-14, returns to action Wednesday afternoon as it
hosts Southwest Texas in a single game beginning at 3 p.m.
