NACOGDOCHES, Texas – For the second time in three days, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi could not hold a late lead against Stephen F. Austin as the Lumberjacks rallied to win 7-6 on a bases-loaded walk-off walk Sunday afternoon.
The Islanders (10-16, 3-6) jumped out to a 4-1 lead and held a 5-4 advantage at the stretch, but two runs in the bottom of the seventh gave SFA its first lead at 6-5. The Lumberjacks capitalized on two walks and two singles in the inning to tie the game and then took the lead on a sacrifice fly from Slayton Vaughan.
A&M-Corpus Christi would rally to tie the game in the top of the ninth as a leadoff single from Nick Anderson set the table. Pinch runner Travis Geiser advanced to second when Zack Gibson walked on a 3-2 pitch with two outs. Geiser came home to score on a single up the middle from Zacarias Hardy, who had three runs batted in on the day.
Hardy rolled a 2-1 pitch up the middle, which looked destined for center field but was cut off by shortstop Tyler Kendrick. Geiser rounded third and headed for home as Kendrick got to his feet and fired the ball to the plate, but a strong slide got Geiser in before the tag as the ball popped away.
SFA (14-16, 4-8) would strike right back with the winning run in the bottom half. The Lumberjacks used a 1-out single from Conner Fikes to start the rally. The next batter, Garrett McMullen fired a hard-hit ground ball to second base, which appeared to be a tailor-made double play ball, but bounded away allowing both men to reach. A hit-by-pitch loaded the bases with one out before a bases-loaded, 3-2 pitch sailed outside for the walk-off walk.
Nolan Holland (2-1) took the loss as the Islanders' weekend of uncharacteristic bullpen struggles continued on Sunday. The closer allowed just the one unearned run, but walked two and hit another in his two innings. Garrett Harris also pitched in relief for the Islanders, allowing a pair of runs on four hits and two walks.
Miscues harmed the Islanders across the board as the Blue and Green made four outs on the base paths and a pair of costly errors. Starter David Worrell was the victim of one of those errors as two unearned runs were scored in the bottom of the fourth. Worrell finished with a line of 4 1/3 innings allowing four runs, only one of which was earned, on five hits.
The Islanders took the lead right out of the gate as Casey Thomas doubled to start the game and scored on Hardy's ground out. The RBI was one of three for Hardy on the day as he added an RBI triple in the third and single in the ninth. The left fielder finished the game 2-for-4.
Austin Krajnak restored the Islanders' lead in the second with his first home run of the season. The first baseman finished his day 2-for-4 with the solo shot and a double.
UP NEXT
After dropping a second consecutive Southland Conference series, the Islanders will try to get back on track in a pair of midweek games at Texas and Texas State to conclude the 10-game road swing. The Blue and Green will then host second-place Lamar in a return to Southland Conference action next weekend at Chapman Field.
– GoDers –
