CORPUS CHRISTI - The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball team kicked off the 2015 season,
defeating Saint Peter's University, 6-4, at Chapman Field Friday night. Travis Geiser lifted the club in the seventh inning with a bases-clearing triple in his first collegiate at bat.
Both the Islanders and Saint Peter's offenses were held in check for the better half of five innings, before the Islanders were able to push across two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to break the scoreless game open.
Senior Jordan Lee finished 3-for-4 on the day including a run scored while Cody Clarke recorded two hits to go along with two RBI's in his Islanders debut.
It was the Islanders preseason first team pick in Tyler Ware that lifted the offense in the sixth. The Omaha, Neb. native led off the inning by drawing one of his team-high three walks. Ware then stole second before SPU's Mike Doran walked Kyle Danford to setup Clarke for his first RBI as an Islander. Justin Perales singled to left field the following at bat, scoring Danford from third to give the home squad a two-run advantage.
Two costly errors in the top of the seventh by the Islanders gave the Peacocks life as they drove across two runs to tie the ballgame. SPU scored its first run of the game on a fielders-choice, which allowed Nick Henriquez to cross the plate on a groundout to third base. The Peacocks picked up an infield hit on the next at bat when a ball was hit sharply toward the left side of the infield where Casey Thomas could not make a play on it.
Clarke came up big for the Islanders, though. The junior drove in Lee for his second RBI of the game on an infield single.
Geiser, a redshirt freshman, played hero for the Islanders though, in a marathon at bat in which the right-hander from Portland, Texas drove the ball to deep right field, clearing the bases on his way to a stand up triple and putting the islanders up 6-2.
"I don't think we played our baseball, especially on defense, but we had some guys step up to the plate and have some really good at-bats," noted head coach Scott Malone. "Especially Travis (Geiser) who came up and had an 11-pitch at bat that he turns into a triple. It was exciting, it was passion — it was what you come out here for."
The Peacocks would score rally to score two runs in the eighth before senior Jacob Dorris entered the game to pick up the two-inning save.
Matt Danton pitched six complete innings for the home team, allowing four hits, no runs and striking out seven on the day. Danton gave up a double down the right-field line to begin the game but settled down soon after, sitting down the next 13 batters he saw.
Both the Islanders and Saint Peter's offenses were held in check for the better half of five innings, before the Islanders were able to push across two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
For updates throughout the season be sure to follow the team on Twitter and Instagram (@IslandersBSB) and Facebook (Islanders Baseball).
