AUSTIN, Texas – In search of a momentum swing at the end of a 10-game road trip, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi found it's biggest win of the season behind a first-inning blast and the right arm of one its youngest players, shutting out Texas 5-0 Tuesday evening for it's second consecutive win over the Longhorns.
"The pregame speech circled around attitude," said head coach Scott Malone. "Wanting each individual hitter to have some attitude, wanting our team to have some presence. We knew we were playing against a talented team that's tough to beat on the road and I wanted us to come out and show a little attitude. I thought we did that tonight."
If you want attitude, look no further than starter Aaron Hernandez.The freshman and Corpus Christi native stole the headlines and the show on the Longhorn Network as the Islanders (11-16) dominated Texas from start to finish in arguably the Blue and Green's best performance of the season. Hernandez spun a gem, the best of his young career, going 5 2/3 innings while striking out a career-high nine Longhorns.
Hernandez had the Longhorns (12-17) off balance all night long, firing his electric fastball in at 94-96 mph while touching 97 on the gun a couple of pitches. Throw in a hard-biting slider painting the outside corner and you have the makings of a career night on the biggest stage. The rookie's performance earned him the Dependable Player of the Game honors on the Longhorn Network broadcast as Hernandez set career highs in innings pitched and strikeouts. At one point, Hernandez had struck out four consecutive Longhorns.
"I really felt like I found my groove in the third or fourth inning," said Hernandez. "I went out that inning and struck out the first two batters and felt really good. That early home run was huge. It let me settle in and trust my stuff. I felt like that was what was missing my last two outings, I wasn't really trusting my stuff. Tonight I just went out and tried to fill up the zone and believe in my stuff."
The freshman was the benefactor of early run support as a leadoff walk to Casey Thomas set the table for Zacarias Hardy. The left fielder took a 1-1 pitch from Texas starter Nolan Kingham and crushed a towering shot not only over the wall but out of the park for a 2-0 lead.
The two runs proved more than enough for Hernandez on the hill, who scattered just five hits in picking up the win. The rookie did not allow Texas to put multiple men on base until the sixth inning.
"Two things really stood out: a couple of early runs and an unbelievable start on the mound," said Malone. "CT getting on base to start it then Hardy coming up with a clutch hit against a really talented arm got us going. I thought that was big to get us a good start and some early confidence.
"Every time Aaron goes out there, I think he has good stuff," continued Malone. "Tonight might have been as good as I've seen. He was throwing low to mid-90s and attaking those guys with a lot of strikes. So a couple of early runs and a great start were exactly what we needed."
When the rookie finished his night with 105 pitches and two men aboard, Chris Falwell stepped in to squelch the only Longhorn threat of the night. The junior and Friday night starter made a cameo out of the bullpen and escaped a bases loaded jam in the sixth by inducing a ground ball to second.
Falwell worked the seventh to finish with 1 1/3 innings in relief without a hit. With the game on the line, the Islanders turned to another weekend regular to close it out.
Devin Skapura, who picked up the win in Saturday's game at Stephen F. Austin, climbed the hill for the final two innings. The veteran worked a quick 1-2-3 eighth inning. His and the entire pitching staff's reward for eight spectacular innings? Three insurance runs in the top of the ninth to put the game away.
It was the bottom of the order for the Islanders, but it didn't matter. Justin Perales worked a full-count walk after falling behind 1-2 to jumpstart the frame. Then it was Cullen Jozwiak who delivered a 1-out single, his third hit of the night, to put a pair aboard.
Catcher and 9-hole hitter Lukas Hermanson opened the floodgates with an RBI-single to right field to stake a 3-0 advantage. Back to the top of the order, Thomas rolled an infield single to short to extend the lead by another run. The Islanders capped the scoring off as Hardy picked up his third RBI of the night on a ball back to the pitcher. Hermanson raced home and slid around the tag at the plate, making it 5-0 Islanders.
Skapura returned to the hill and earned his first save with a strikeout and a 3-6 double play as Perales stabbed a grounder at first, stepped on the bag and fired to Thomas at second to topple the Longhorns for a second straight season.
QUICK HITS
• Cullen Jozwiak continued his hot hitting, going 3-for-4 at the plate with the lone out being a line drive to second.
• Zack Gibson extended his reached base streak to all 26 games he has played this season.
• Casey Thomas 2-for-4 day was his team-best 13th multi-hit game this season.
ON TO STATE
The Islanders return to the diamond tomorrow with a 6 p.m. matchup with Texas State in San Marcos.
