CORPUS CHRISTI - The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball team snapped a six-game losing
streak with a 4-3 victory over Stephen F. Austin in the annual Strikeout Cancer game Saturday afternoon at Chapman Field.
Senior left-hander Trevor Belicek finished with a career-high 13 strikeouts in eight complete innings of work on his way to picking up his third win of the year. It was the most strikeouts in a game by an Islanders starter since Daniel Minor retired 14 in a 1-0 win over UTSA in 2012. With the victory, the Uvalde, Texas native becomes the winningest pitcher (16) in school history.
From the fifth inning all the way to the seventh, Belicek retired 7-of-8 Lumberjack batters with strikeouts, four of which were looking.
"With six-straight losses coming into today we needed something, and I'm usually the guy who pitches and goes to my spot on the bench. But after I had the two innings where I struck out the sides I decided it was time to start screaming and getting on somebody and get something going," Belicek said.
"I think our hitters and defense did a tremendous job throughout the game of just competing," he continued. "We had a few hiccups but when it mattered most they came though and made the plays that counted."
Stephen F. Austin (8-19, 3-7 SLC) picked up the first two runs of the game in the second and third inning, but the Islanders would respond in the fourth with run to make it a one-run game at 2-1. Senior Kyle Danford would lead off the inning with a single, a stolen base and eventually advance to third on a wild pitch before Tyler Ware would drive him in on an infield single.
A&M-Corpus Christi (11-11, 3-5 SLC) would break open the game in the sixth inning. Corpus Christi, Texas native Justin Perales started things off for the Islanders with a big double to center field before Lukas Hermanson reached on catchers interference. The Islanders would use a pinch hitter in Zacarias Hardy who loaded the bases with a four-pitch walk.
First baseman Frankie Salas came up with one of the biggest hits of the game in the next at bat as he singled to center field to score both Perales and Hermanson and give the Islanders the 3-2 lead. Brett Burner would continue the scoring in the frame with a sacrifice bunt that would push the lead to two.
The Lumberjacks would make it interesting in the ninth as they cut the deficit to one and loaded the bases, but senior closer Jacob Dorris would strikeout SFA's Nick Ramos looking to pick up his fifth save of the season.
Plays that might go unnoticed in the final box score but played key factors into the win were Brandon Guilford's play on a bunt up the third base line that did not allow the runner from third to score. Casey Thomas made a terrific play on a ball hit up the middle that scored the third run of the game, but saved the tying run from advancing.
The Islanders and Lumberjacks will play the rubber game Sunday at 1 p.m. as Devin Skapura is scheduled to make his sixth start of the year.
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