CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – After playing 21 innings of baseball in Sunday's doubleheader, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi walked off of Chapman Field with a series victory in the Southland Conference opener versus Nicholls after splitting the twin bill.
The Islanders (9-9, 2-1 SLC) dropped the morning game 4-1 in 12 innings to the Colonels (10-11, 2-4 SLC) before bouncing back with an 8-0 win in the rubber match. The 8-0 series-clinching win is the first shutout of the year for the Islanders as freshman David Worrell (2-2) and senior Garrett Harris (Sv, 1) combined to two-hit Nicholls.
"On a conference weekend, the number one goal is win the weekend," said head coach Scott Malone. "If we go 2-1 every weekend, we'll be in great shape. I told the guys not to look back at the early game, because I thought Nicholls played outstanding. Their defense was unreal, they ran the bases aggressively and did a lot of little things well. So looking back, to come out here and win the series, go 2-1 against a good team is a great start for us."
GAME ONE: ISLANDERS 1 - NICHOLLS 4 – 12 inn. | Box Score
The day's first game was a pitcher's duel from the outset. Islander junior Devin Skapura was electric on the mound, producing one of his best starts in three seasons on the Island. The right-hander would garner a no-decision after tossing seven innings, allowing a single unearned run while scattering four hits. Skapura struck out a career-high nine batters, surpassing his previous high-water mark of six punchouts in just four innings.
"I thought our starting pitching was outstanding today, maybe the best its been all season," said Malone. "I thought Skap looked like a veteran today. He gave you that veteran start we've been looking for this season."
The Islanders took an early lead in the bottom of the fourth when Casey Thomas singled to open the inning and moved to third on a Zacarias Hardy knock to right center. A batter later, freshman Nick Anderson lifted a sacrifice fly to left, bringing home Thomas and the game's first run.
Nicholls pulled the run back in the sixth as a pair of errors with one out allowed the Colonels inning to extend, eventually seeing the bases loaded with two outs. Colonel left fielder Quade Smith hit a sharp ground ball into the hole at short as Thomas laid out to stop it, but had no play.
From there, no one would score for the next five innings until the Colonels used three hits to push across three runs in the 12th. With freshman reliever Aaron Hernandez on the mound, a pair of singles scored the go-ahead run. Hernandez would take a tough loss, working a very solid 4 1/3 innings allowing two runs on five hits.
The Islanders brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the 12th with just one out, but a fly ball and strikeout ended the comeback effort.
GAME TWO: ISLANDERS 8 – NICHOLLS 0 | Box Score
The backend of the doubleheader saw the Islanders dominate from start to finish, picking up their first shutout of the season as the Blue and Green got spectacular pitching yet again.
Freshman David Worrell (2-2) bounced back from a pair of rocky starts in his previous two outings to post five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out a pair. Worrell needed just 67 pitches to work through his five innings before giving way to the veteran Harris out of the pen.
Harris proceeded to work the final four innings of the game in perfect fashion to earn his first save of the season. The right-hander struck out five Colonels to keep any thoughts of a comeback off the table.
"I thought both those guys were outstanding today," said Malone of starters Skapura and Worrell. "Both just went out and threw strikes. Worrell was very good today, but man, I like our bullpen right now. We may have pulled the trigger a bit early on him, but when Garrett came in, the game turned and it really got easy for us."
At the plate, Thomas once again set the tone at the top of the order as the senior went 3-for-5 at the dish with two runs scored. Thomas, who was scorching hot all weekend long, finished the series at a remarkable 9-for-14 with a triple, RBI and four runs scored. The senior ran his hitting streak to a season-best nine games.
"I was just seeing the ball really well," said Thomas on his 9-for-14 weekend. "I'm sticking to my approach and trusting what I've got going and it's working out."
The Islanders opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the fourth and never looked back. Zack Gibson, who returned to the lineup after serving a one-game suspension in the morning game, legged out an infield single and advanced to second on a throwing error to lead the inning off. Gibson would score on a perfectly executed squeeze bunt from Brian Deaver at the plate. Cullen Jozwiak followed with a RBI single, part of a 2-for-3 game at the plate, as Justin Perales scored from second to make it a 2-0 advantage.
The Blue and Green added another run in the fifth to stretch the lead as Thomas and Hardy singled to open the frame and Thomas came home to score as Anderson was hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded.
With a 3-0 lead and Harris cruising on the hill, the Islanders put the game out of reach with a 4-run seventh inning. The Islanders sent all nine men to the plate in the decisive frame using three hits, two walks and a hit batsmen to score the four runs. Perales picked up an RBI single in the frame while Brett Burner pinch-hit and delivered a 2-run, 2-out single.
Thomas and the Islanders pushed across the final marker of the game in the eighth as the senior led off with a single. Hardy then singled to move the shortstop to second before a wild pitch put both in scoring position. A sac fly off the bat of Gibson provided the final margin of 8-0.
The man of the weekend, Thomas felt something shift in the dugout as conference action arrived with this series.
"I think one of the biggest things that made us successful this weekend was all the energy we had," said Thomas. "It was different from any game we've play this year. All three games we had tremendous energy whether we were up or down and I think that is big to carry forward."
UP NEXT
The Islanders will hit the road for 10 straight games, beginning Tuesday night at No. 3 Texas A&M. That game can be seen on WatchESPN and SEC Network+ at 6:30 p.m.
