CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 3-run home run in the top of the eighth flipped the script on an otherwise strong day for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi as the blast from Aaron Funk propelled UT Arlington to a 4-2 win Sunday afternoon.
The Islanders (1-10) struck first with a pair of runs in the bottom of inning number two.
Brian Deaver started the frame with a single to left field and
Dalton Stark followed with a single of his own to put two aboard for
Scott Balfantz.
The junior backstop took advantage of a big hole on the right side, slicing an RBI-single for the Islanders first run of the game. Corpus Christi would tack on the second run on a sacrifice bunt from
Brett Burner, which scored Stark from third.
At that point, the story turned to pitching as
Chris Glover, making his first start as an Islander, tossed 3 2/3 strong innings. The right-hander scattered four hits to keep UT Arlington scoreless. When Glover ran into a jam in the fourth,
Chad Romere came on with two aboard to end the inning with a strikeout. Romere would finish 1 1/3 innings of action with three punchouts.
UT Arlington scraped across its first run of the afternoon off of
David Worrell in the seventh. The Islanders had a potential inning-ending double play ball, but the throw to first pulled
Dan Brokop off the bag to extend the frame. The next batter, Quintin Rohrbaugh laced a single into center field to cut the Islander lead in half.
That's when things turned in the eighth. On in relief,
Nolan Holland (0-2) induced a ground out to retire the first man he faced before allowing a 1-out single. With the runner aboard at first, Holland got a comebacker off the bat of Easton Johnson, but his throw to second to start the double play sailed high.
The next man up, Funk, sent Holland's 1-1 offering soaring over the right field wall, giving the Mavericks the 4-2 lead.
It would prove all UTA needed as Jakob Hernandez finished off his complete game allowing just the two runs on six hits. The Islanders mustered just a single hit after the fifth against Hernandez who struck out the side in the ninth to end the game.
The Islanders return to Chapman Field Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. to face UH-Victoria before heading to Texas on Wednesday.
