CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- After committing an error in the top of the eighth which helped Houston Baptist rally from a 4-1 deficit, shortstop Casey Thomas stepped to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the ninth looking for redemption. The senior found it, driving a single through the left side to plate Cullen Jozwiak and lead Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to a walk-off victory over Houston Baptist Tuesday at Chapman Field.
"I was just really ready to hit a fastball hard," said Thomas of his game-winning at-bat. "I was thinking about that error, I felt I had let my team down. Jozwiak had a couple of errors today two so we had said we let them down early but we were going to get it here. So I was looking for a fastball and I got it."
From start to end, the bottom of the ninth was a redemption story from the Islanders as Jozwiak, who committed a pair of the Islanders (3-1) season-high four errors opened the inning by drawing a 3-2, leadoff walk. After a sac bunt moved Jozwiak to second, a strikeout set the table for Thomas' heroics.
The senior took two balls to open the at-bat, the got the fastball he was looking for. Thomas (2-for-5, 2 RBI) spun on the offering, driving a ground ball to the left side where Houston Baptist (3-2) third baseman Justin Monsour laid out, getting a glove to the ball but only to see it deflect into left. Jozwiak raced around third and slid in safely ahead of the throw to earn the Islanders first walk-off win since a 10-inning affair against Southeastern Louisiana at the Southland Conference Tournament last season.
"I thought for seven innings we were really solid and really good," said head coach Scott Malone. "Obviously, Falwell set that pace on the mound. We had a couple of big at-bats early in the day, I though Gibson was great today, Deaver didn't have a lot to show for it, but he was very good, and Hardy had another huge day. All of that was established by the pace of Falwell."
BIG DAY FOR HARDY
Junior left fielder Zacarias Hardy continued his hot start to the season with a 3-for-4 day including his first home run of the season. Hardy opened the game with three consecutive hits, capped off with his solo shot over the left field wall.
With a 2-1 lead, Hardy stepped to the plate facing reliever Chris Thames. In the blink of an eye, Hardy was down 0-2 in the count, but it didn't matter. In a rare day, with the wind blowing out to left at Chapman Field, Hardy uncorked a rocket which hooked inside the pole down the line to extend the lead to 3-1.
Following Tuesday, Hardy is now 8-for-16 on the season and has hit safely in each of the Islanders' four games this season. The junior also leads the Blue and Green with four RBI on the season.
FALWELL IMPRESSES IN FIRST START
No one could blame Islander starter Chris Falwell if he felt a bit of nerves prior to his first start, but that was never an issue according to the junior.
"The first few innings felt a little bit slow," said Falwell. "After I got into the flow of the game, I was able to throw some of my better stuff. I wasn't really all that nervous, because I've been coming out here putting together good days all fall and all spring, so I felt like I was ready for today."
There's been a buzz around the 6-foot-7 southpaw since early fall and Tuesday, Falwell showed why the excitement has continued to grow. The junior college transfer climbed the hill as a starter for the first time and spun a spectacular seven innings, allowing just a single unearned run on four hits. Falwell fanned seven Huskies while issuing just one free pass and extended to 104 pitches on the outing.
"He threw so well," said Malone. "That's maybe one of the best starting debuts that I've seen in nine years here. There were a lot of MLB guys here to see him play today and he knew that. He went out there and I think that he pitched better than he did in junior college, at Arkansas or in high school. I'm so proud of how far he's come and he still has a long way to go."
BATS STRIKE EARLY
For a third game in a row, the Islanders got the bats rolling early. In their first trip to the plate, the Islanders tallied thanks to a one-out triple off the bat of Zack Gibson. A few pitches later, he trotted home on a sacrifice fly from Austin Krajnak.
The next inning, the Blue and Green extended its lead as Brian Deaver led off the frame with a single. Deaver would cross the plate after a sacrifice bunt and a pair of wild pitches.
QUICK HITS
• Nolan Holland tossed the ninth inning, allowing an unearned run as he could not complete his third save in as many games, but Holland did pick up his first win of the season.
• The Islander pitching staff did not allow a single earned run in the game.
UP NEXT
The Islanders head downtown to Whataburger Field this weekend for the 2016 Kleberg Bank College Classic. The Blue and Green open the weekend with UCF on Friday night at 6 p.m. before taking on Big Ten foe Michigan State in Saturday night's marquee matchup. The Islanders will then close the classic Sunday afternoon against in-state rival Texas State.
