CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – In his first career appearance at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, freshman starter David Worrell rattled off an impressive six innings of one-run baseball to lead the Islanders to a 6-2, series-clinching victory over Chicago State Sunday afternoon.
"We talked about it after the game, said head coach Scott Malone. "Looking at where we were Friday night after the first inning and where we were at the end of the night getting outplayed pretty well to bounce back and see the way we responded Saturday and Sunday was great. I thought we played good baseball and played a really clean game today."
Taking to the mound at Chapman Field for the first time, Worrell (1-0, 1.50 ERA) showed no signs of nerves as the rookie scattered six hits while striking out five Cougars (1-2) to deliver his first quality start. Worrell filled the zone all afternoon and did not issue a single walk, as the freshman pitched to contact.
"I trusted my defense wholeheartedly," said Worrell. "I've been playing with these guys all fall and all spring and I just trusted them to go out there and do what they do best and that's get outs."
The defense responded by turning in a host of spectacular plays behind the young hurler, beginning with a diving grab by fellow rookie Nick Anderson in right field for the first out of the third. Two innings later, shortstop Casey Thomas made a sliding backhanded stop in the hole to deny Chicago State a leadoff single.
"Seeing my guys do that for me was huge," said Worrell. "Especially early on, seeing your defense work like that is great."
"I thought we had three web gems today," said head coach Scott Malone, echoing the sentiment of his starting pitcher, "Nick Anderson on the dive, CT in the six-hole and Jozwiak diving down the line. The thing about those were they all started an inning, so they never let Chicago State get off the mat today and get going."
With Worrell and the defense stifling the Cougars, the Islanders (2-1) churned out runs in five different innings to steadily build the lead.
SHARING THE LOAD
A&M-Corpus Christi did not waste opportunities Sunday, scoring in five of the six innings which runners reached scoring position. The Islanders also spread the workload out as six players each produced a single RBI in the win.
After the middle of the order carried the Blue and Green Saturday, the six through eight hitters produced five of the Islanders eight hits Sunday.
"I thought Guilford giving us two great at-bats early on set the tone for this to be a great offensive day," said Malone. "We turned our lineup over every time we got to the bottom today. I thought Guilford had a great day, Jozwiak had some good at-bats and it was nice to see those guys at the bottom have a good day."
Zacarias Hardy went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Hardy scored the initial run after doubling in the second, stealing third and crossing home on Cullen Jozwiak's RBI ground out. The Islanders tacked a second run on in the frame as Brandon Guilford (2-for-4, RBI) singled and later scored on Casey Thomas' two-out knock.
After a quiet third, the Blue and Green scratched across runs in each of the next four frames, building a 6-1 advantage. Jozwiak picked up his first hit of the season and came around to score on a Guilford single in the fourth. Then, freshman Nick Anderson doubled to lead off the fifth before scoring on a sac fly from Zack Gibson.
In the sixth, the Islanders manufactured a run without a single hit as Lukas Hermanson squeezed home Jozwiak, who walked with one away. The Islanders' final run came in the seventh when Hardy laced a two-out single to left field, plating Gibson from second.
HOLLAND SNAGS SECOND SAVE
With a 6-2 lead heading into the ninth, the Islanders turned to Garrett Harris to finish out the game. After a rocky outing Saturday, Harris allowed a pair of singles before recording two outs on a fly ball and punch out. The senior then issued a 3-2 walk to Cody Freund to load the bases.
That's when the Islanders turned to junior closer Nolan Holland. For the second time in as many days, Holland entered in a bases loaded jam with two outs. Facing the Cougars' most prolific hitter, Andy Gertonson, Holland induced a grounder to short, which Thomas handled to finish off the game and grab a second-straight save to open the season.
"The comment in the dugout on Gertonson, who had an unbelieveable weekend was Paul Goldschmidt," said Malone. "That's who he played like. I thought Nolan threw him five outstanding pitches and he wouldn't go down without a fight. But on a day when we honored Jacob Dorris, we get Nolan Holland out here for his second save. Both days we're bringing him in with the bases loaded, so I'm hoping one day I can start him in an inning and breathe, but that's the fun part of baseball. You sign up for the biggest plays in the biggest spots and I thought he did a great job today."
QUICK HITS
• Freshman Aaron Hernandez made his second appearance, allowing an unearned run while striking out three in two innings.
• Thomas finished the day 2-for-5 with his first RBI of the season.
• Hardy's 2-for-4 day capped off a 5-for-12 weekend with a trio of RBI.
• Austin Krajnak finished the opening series 5-for-11 with three runs driven in.
MIDWEEK MATINEE
The Islanders return to Chapman Field Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m. as they host defending Southland Conference Tournament champion Houston Baptist in a non-conference tilt. Following the Tuesday afternoon showdown, the Islanders head to downtown Corpus Christi for the Kleberg Bank College Classic at Whataburger Field Friday, Feb. 26 through Sunday, Feb. 28.
