CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – For a second-straight night and the third time in three losses this season, the big inning bit Texas A&M-Corpus Christi as Michigan State broke a 2-2 deadlock with five runs in the top of the seventh en route to a 9-3 win Saturday night at Whataburger Field.
Starter Devin Skapura was fantastic for the Islanders (3-3), allowing just a single earned run through the first six innings, holding down the potent Spartan lineup. Skapura (1-1) would be saddled with the loss, though, as a leadoff home run from Dan Durkin changed the complexion of a back-and-forth affair in the middle day of the Kleberg Bank College Classic.
Durkin jumped a 1-0 offering from Skapura, launching it off the VIP deck beyond the right field wall at Whataburger Field. The solo shot gave Michigan State (5-0) its first lead of the game at 3-2. Royce Ando followed with a triple to chase Skapura and set the table for the big inning.
"It was two different games tonight," said head coach Scott Malone. "I really liked Skap tonight. I thought he was really good. It was probably one of his better games against a really talented team. He held them in check, kept them off balance but then got out there in the seventh and made a couple of mistakes and they got them.
"To me that's the first difference," Malone continued. "Their guy (Ethan Landon) didn't make a ton of mistakes and when he did, we didn't get them. I thought we had him on the ropes a couple of times, but missed a couple chances. When they broke through, they started stringing together hits."
String together hits the Spartans certainly did, sending 10 men to the plate in the decisive seventh inning. When it was all said and done, Michigan State tagged three Islander pitchers with five runs on six hits in the frame.
Michigan State would tack on two more in the top of the ninth off of Kyle Carroll to seal the win and move to 2-0 at the Kleberg Bank College Classic.
HOT STARTS CONTINUE, ANDERSON MAKES A MOVE
Once again the Islanders jumped out to an early lead as freshman Nick Anderson roped an RBI-single into right center field to plate Austin Krajnak. The run marked Anderson's first RBI wearing the Blue and Green. The rookie did not stop there, producing a 3-for-4 day at the plate in just his second start at A&M-Corpus Christi.
With the big day at the dish, Anderson is now 4-for-9 on the young season.
SEESAW MIDDLE INNINGS
After Michigan State leveled the game with an unearned run, the Islanders reclaimed the lead in the fifth as Zack Gibson hustled down the line to beat out an infield single. The throw skipped away allowing Brian Deaver to score from second and make it a 2-1 score line.
Michigan State rebounded the next inning to even the score once again, this time at 2-2. That's when the big inning changed the course of the game.
QUICK HITS
• Zacarias Hardy extended his hit streak to six games with his first-inning single.
• Zack Gibson finished 2-for-5 for his second straight multi-hit game.
• Chris Cooper work 1 1/3 scoreless innings in his second consecutive night of work.
• Casey Thomas produced his fourth RBI of the season with a ninth-inning single to left.
SUNDAY FINALE
The Islanders will look to salvage a game at the Kleberg Bank College Classic on Sunday afternoon versus Texas State.
"This was one of our shortest postgame meetings of the year," said Malone. "I wanted to make sure they knew we were going to win tomorrow."
First pitch is set for 3 p.m. from Whataburger Field and will be carried live on the Islanders Digital Network.
