Seniors Spark Series-Opening Rout

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Playing in their final home series as Islanders, seniors owned the day as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi rolled Abilene Christian 11-3 in Thursday night's series opener.
 
Dawson Yates landed the big blow, launching a grand slam in the bottom of the fourth to stake the Islanders to a lead they would never relinquish. Yates finished the night 2-for-2 with a trio of walks, four runs scored and the four RBI from the grand slam.
 
Fellow senior Lukas Hermanson finished with a 2-for-4 day at the plate with three runs driven in. Hermanson helped the Islanders pull away with his two-run double in the bottom of the sixth as the Blue and Green extended its lead to 10-3 in the inning.
 
Meanwhile, a third senior, Devin Skapura, was getting it done on the mound, going five innings to earn the victory in his final start. The right-hander surrendered three runs on seven hits to move to 4-4 on the season.
 
Abilene Christian (13-37, 3-25) struck first with a second-inning run. The Wildcats used a two-out single to chase home the opening tally of the night, but the Islanders would have more than enough in response.
 
Corpus Christi (20-32, 12-16) drew level in the bottom of the third without the benefit of a hit. Five Islanders drew walks in the inning and Nick Anderson forced the first Islander run across with his bases-loaded free pass.
 
The big inning, the first of two on the night, came in the fourth for the Blue and Green. Luke Marbach was hit by a Austin Lambright (0-3) offering before moving to third on Dalton Stark's double. A four-pitch walk to Jackson Owens loaded the bases and chased Lambright, setting the table for Yates' blast.
 
The veteran watched patiently as the first two pitches from reliever Doug Dyer miss the zone before finding the one he wanted. Yates took the 2-0 offering, a fastball over the middle of the plate, and sent a no-doubter scorching over the right field wall. Just like that it was 5-1 Islanders.
 
ACU close in to 5-3 with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth, but the Islanders erased any doubt in the game with a monstrous sixth.
 
Stark launched his third home run in the past seven contests to lead off the inning, highlighting a 2-for-5 day at the plate for the right fielder. A walk and singles from Yates and Cullen Jozwiak scored another before Hermanson's double chased both home. By the tune the inning ended, the Islanders had sent 11 men to the plate and scored five runs.
 
While the bats were piling on the runs, the bullpen did yeoman's work, holding the Wildcats without a hit for the final four innings of the game. Chad Romere tossed a perfect 1 2/3 innings, fanning three of the five men he faced. Korey Rasure followed with a clean 1 1/3 innings, allowing just a single walk before Cole Carter tossed a scoreless ninth.
 
FRIDAY NIGHT SETUP
 
The Islanders and Wildcats will battle in game two of the final series of the season for the Blue and Green on Friday night. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Chapman Field.