CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A three-run rally with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning brought the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball team within two of Central Arkansas on Friday night at Chapman Field, but a pair of scores by the Bears in the top of the ninth sent the Blue and Green to an 8-4 loss.
Jackson Owens led the way for the Islanders (14-28, 6-13) with a pair of RBI, while
Dalton Stark,
Brett Burner and
Brian Deaver notched multi-hit games.
The Bears (23-19, 11-8) took the lead in the first on one hit and two Islanders errors. Keaton Presley scored on a fielder's choice, as the Blue and Green kept the visitors to the lone run, despite having the bases loaded.
After the shaky start, Islanders starter
Dustin Lacaze (2-2) settled in, sending the Bears back in order in three of the next four innings. The redshirt freshman finished with three strikeouts to go with five hits and five earned runs against when he exited with two outs in the seventh.
Presley put Central Arkansas up 3-0 in the fifth on a one-out RBI double to center. After Deaver brought in
Nick Anderson with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the sixth, Hunter Strong launched the first pitch of his at-bat over the wall in right center to give the Bears a 6-1 lead.
David Worrell came on in relief and fooled four Bears in 2 1/3 innings with a combination of his fastball and breaking pitch.
The Islanders mounted their comeback bid in the eighth as
Cullen Jozwiak and Stark singled back to back with two outs. Owens drove a 2-2 pitch into the left field corner as Stark was waved in from first, which spelled the end to UCA starter Travis Gray's day.
Reliever Ty Tice made it through one at-bat, as Owens advanced to third on a wild pitch. Burner then laced a 1-0 offering just out of the reach of the third baseman to cut the deficit down to two.
Brandon Hagerla came on for Tice and the save, striking out two of the four batters hit faced, while the defense turned a double play in the ninth.
Strong capped a 3-for-4 night with his third RBI on a double to right field. Justin McCarty added an insurance run two batters later with an RBI single up the middle.
The two clubs will square off tomorrow at 4 p.m. as the Islanders turn to
Cole Carter (3-5) for the start and the Bears will go with Cody Davenport on the mound.
