CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A five-run top of the first for Chicago State derailed opening day festivities for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi as the Islanders could not overcome the big deficit, falling 7-1 at Chapman Field.
As the sun set beyond the center field wall, a great crowd bustled in anticipation as Islander great Trevor Belicek threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
From that point on, it was all Chicago State.
The Cougars (1-0) took advantage of five free passes in the first frame to push across five runs on just three hits. Senior Dalton D'Spain (0-1), bounced back from a leadoff walk to fan the second batter he faced, but a two-run home run off the bat of Andy Gertonson sparked the big inning which put the Islanders (0-1) in an insurmountable hole.
"It was huge," said head coach Scott Malone of the big first inning. "We have enough veterans to know that this park can be extremely offensive, so were we down? Yeah. Did we take a punch? Yeah. But I don't think we ever counted ourselves out, but we couldn't ever get the bats going."
"We had an outstanding crowd and we never let them get into the game," continued Malone. "We were never able to throw even a little punch to get them going and that was a little disappointing for me."
The Blue and Green scratched back with a run in the bottom half as Zack Gibson walked and advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt. Junior Zacarias Hardy drove Gibson in by hustling down the line to earn an infield single on a chopper up the middle.
Chicago State tacked on the game's final two runs in the third, once again benefitting off free passes. Reliever Chris Cooper opened the frame with a hit batsmen and a five-pitch walk. Both men came around to score on just a single hit in the inning.
With the big lead, Chicago State starter Jake Perkins (1-0) shined on the mound. The big lefty tossed six strong innings allowing just a single run on three hits.
HERNANDEZ AND FALWELL SHINE
Two of the brightest spots for the Islanders in an otherwise gloomy opening day were newcomers Aaron Hernandez and Chris Falwell.
The freshman Hernandez had a perfect debut for the Blue and Green. The local product out of Moody High School threw a hitless 1 1/3 innings and fanned a pair as he electrified the hometown crowd.
"It was pretty good," said Hernandez of his first collegiate outing. "I was just trying to go out and do my job and get the team back into the game."
Hernandez turned the ball over to Chris Falwell in the eighth and the junior college transfer picked up where the freshman left off, striking out the side and working a pair of scoreless frames. The to-be No. 1 starter needed just 12 pitches to punch out the side in the eighth.
"Those two are big stuff guys," said Malone. "When they're on and throwing strikes, they are going to be tough to hit. You saw them tonight, they were extremely tough to hit."
QUICK HITS
• Zacarias Hardy finished the day 2-for-4 with the Islanders' only RBI.
• Junior college transfer Austin Krajnak also produced a 2-for-4 day at the plate.
• Chris Cooper came on in relief in the second inning, working four frames allowing two runs on two hits.
• The Islanders issued 13 free passes on 10 walks and three hit batsmen. All 13 came in the first six innings.
BOUNCE BACK SATURDAY
The Islanders will look to even the series at 1-1 on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
