SAN ANTONIO – Colton Besett's three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning lifted Incarnate Word to a 6-1 victory over the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball team on Friday night at Sullivan Field. Geno Encina scattered four hits in eight innings for the Cardinals, who won their sixth straight conference contest.
Trevor Belicek allowed just three hits in six innings, but all three hits came in the third, the biggest one being Besett's fifth home run of the year. The lefty walked a season-high five in addition to five strikeouts in falling to 8-4 on the year. Encina improved to 3-4 on the year, striking out five in the win. UIW tallied just six hits in the contest, but made the most of them, driving in all six runs in the game with two outs.
Out of the gate, both pitchers looked strong, with Encina working his way around a Casey Thomas triple in the first and Belicek working out of a two-on, two-out situation in the second. The game remained quiet until the bottom of the fourth, when Austin Hoffman led off with a double for UIW. Belicek rebounded to get the next batter to pop up a bunt, but Brance Kahle drew a walk to put two runners on. An infield fly followed for the second out, but Besett came up and ripped the first pitch he saw high into the screen in left for a three-run homer and a 3-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Encina continued to roll, limiting the Islanders to three hits over the first six innings of work. In the seventh, the Islanders finally cracked the scoreboard. Kyle Danford drew a one-out walk, and head coach Scott Malone called on Dom Lopez to pinch-hit. Lopez fell behind 1-2, but was able to foul off a couple solid pitches and then crushed a double to deep right center to plate Danford to make it a 3-1 score.
But that was as close as the Islanders would get. Encina rebounded to get out of the seventh, set the Islanders down in order in the eighth, then saw his team get a trio of insurance runs in the eighth. Dalton D'Spain started the frame with a strikeout, but surrendered a walk and a single to put runners at the corners and one away. He rebounded to strike out the next batter, but a walk loaded the bases with two away.
The Islanders turned the ball over to Nolan Holland, and he was greeted rudely on the very first pitch, as reigning Southland Conference Player of the Week Aaron Warren ripped a single up the middle to score two. Matt Morris followed with an RBI single to push the score to 6-1. A&M-Corpus Christi got a leadoff double in the ninth, but were unable to score the rest of the way.
With inclement weather on the horizon for Sunday, the two teams have changed the weekend schedule, and will now play a doubleheader starting at noon on Saturday. Live stats and audio will be available through GoIslanders.com and via the Islanders Front Row mobile app. For all the latest on Islanders Baseball, be sure to follow the team on Twitter and Instagram (@IslandersBSB) and like the team's official Facebook page (IslandersBSB).
