ARLINGTON, Texas – A 9-run first inning for UT Arlington buried Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in an insurmountable hole in the series finale as the Islanders fell 10-4 Sunday afternoon at Clay Gould Ballpark.
The Mavericks (8-5) responded to an Islander run in the top of the first with a monstrous 9-run frame as the Islanders (5-7) needed three pitchers to get out of the inning. UT Arlington sent 13 men to the plate in the opening inning, stringing together eight hits to chase starter Caleb Hanks (0-1) and reliever Austin Blakeley.
"We got off to a rough start and that's on me," said head coach Scott Malone. "I put a freshman on the big stage when we were really backed into a corner. We needed some early zeros against a very talented hitting team and we got off to a poor start."
The Islanders finally managed to end the nightmarish first when Garrett Harris induced a fly out to left to leave a runner on second. Harris went on to provide a strong 4 2/3 innings, allowing a single run on five hits while striking out three.
"Garrett was good in his first extended spot out of the bullpen," said Malone.
Harris' work gave the Islanders a chance to fight back into the game and the Blue and Green cut the lead to five with a run in the fourth and a pair in the fifth.
First baseman Austin Krajnak earned a 9-pitch single with one away to get things going in the fourth. Designated hitter Harrison Hill singled a batter later to put two men aboard. A walk to Cullen Jozwiak loaded the bases as the Islanders looked for the big inning themselves, but a fly ball and ground out limited the Islanders to just one run on a wild pitch.
An inning later, the Islanders strung together four hits, all singles, to score a pair of runs. Zacarias Hardy and Krajnak each picked up RBI in the inning as the Blue and Green cut the lead down to 9-4 midway through the game.
"We showed some fight to cut the score to 9-4," said Malone. "We had two runners on base, but could not cash in for the big inning."
The deficit proved too much to overcome however as UTA would push the margin back to six with a run in the sixth and hold the score for the final three frames.
PLATE NOTES
• Zack Gibson finished 3-for-5 to lead the Islanders at the plate.
• Hardy picked up 2 RBI in his 2-for-5 day to give him his second multi-RBI game in the last three.
• Krajnak finished the game 2-for-5 at the dish for his fourth multi-hit game of the season.
ON THE MOUND
After the 9-run first, Harris, Aaron Hernandez and Nolan Holland combined to hold the Mavericks to just one run. The relievers allowed just six hits combined over 8 1/3 innings to finish the game.
RETURN TO CHAPMAN
The Islanders return to Chapman Field for a week-long homestand as the Blue and Green welcome UTSA on Tuesday before Louisiana Tech comes to the Coastal Bend for the weekend.
