LAKE CHARLES, La. – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi produced all of its damage in a single inning on Sunday afternoon. The five-run second proved all the Islanders would need as the Blue and Green claimed a 5-4 win to take the series at Southland Conference leader McNeese.
The Islanders (17-31, 9-15) used five hits to score their five runs in the second inning, highlighted by a two-run triple from
Jackson Owens. The third baseman's three-bagger made it 4-0 before
Brett Burner doubled him home to make it a 5-0 advantage.
From that point, it was all about hanging on for the Islanders – and hang on they did.
Dawson Yates and
Dalton Stark started the big inning. The pair wreaked havoc on the Cowboys for a third-straight day, as Yates and Stark drove in the first two runs of the day with RBI-singles. The knocks scored
Cullen Jozwiak, who singled, and
Nick Anderson, who was hit by pitch.
Owens followed with his two-out triple to plate Yates and Stark before Burner's double made it 5-0 in favor of the Blue and Green.
McNeese (31-15, 20-7) began slowly chipping away at the 5-0 lead, getting a run in the third and another in the fourth to chase Islander starter
David Worrell. Worrell worked four innings, allowing the two runs on six hits. The right-hander did not record a strikeout or a walk, pitching to contact throughout his outing.
In the fifth, Worrell was relieved by
Chris Cooper, who would finish off the final five innings to earn the win in the series-clincher.
Cooper (5-4) was simply spectacular. The right-hander allowed just a pair of runs, both unearned, in his five innings. A two-out miscue in the sixth led to McNeese cutting the lead down to 5-4, but Cooper never let the Cowboys threaten again.
In the final three frames, Cooper faced the minimum against the Southland's best offensive club. He allowed just a single in the bottom of the ninth before erasing it on a 6-4-3 double play.
HOT HITTING
>> 16 of the Islanders' 17 RBI on the weekend came from four players – Stark, Yates, Owens and Burner.
>> The quartet also produced 22 of the Islanders' 31 hits, combining to hit .431 over the weekend.
>> Stark's second-inning RBI gave the junior an RBI in each of the three games this weekend.
>> Stark, Yates, Owens and Burner all had multi-hit days in the finale.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Islanders still face an uphill climb as they chase a spot in the Southland Conference Tournament. Corpus Christi will head to San Antonio next weekend for a three-game series with UIW before closing the regular season at home against Abilene Christian.
