NORMAN, Okla. - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was unable to come out on top in Saturday's doubleheader with Oklahoma, dropping a pair of decisions 3-2 and 7-3. Backed by a 7.2 inning outing from right hander
Aaron Hernandez, the Islanders came just short of a ninth inning comeback during game one, while a big sixth frame from the Sooners secured a second loss for the Blue and Green later in the afternoon.
GAME ONE
Coming off his first career shutout against Utah Valley, Hernandez extended his streak to 17.2 innings without an earned run against, before OU broke the scoreless tie during the third frame. Corpus Christi was held to eight hits through the first eight innings of Saturday's opening contest, allowing the hosting side to extend their lead to 3-0 before the ninth.
A
Drake Osborn walk and a single from
Andriud Martinez put runners on the corners for pinch hitter
Itchy Burts, who responded with his third knock of the year on an RBI single up the middle. A
Harrison DiNicola sac fly would bring Martinez in from third and bring the Sooners' advantage to a single run, but the contest would conclude at 3-2, as the Islanders' comeback bid came just short of forcing extras.
Hernandez finished the afternoon with his third consecutive quality start while striking out six OU batters in his 7.2 innings of work. The Islander ace has sat down 33 on strikes over his past three starts, and is currently averaging 12.08 K/9 on the year.
A.G. Ayala made his first appearance of the weekend, recording a single out in the bottom of the eighth, and is yet have an earned run credited to his effort in 2018.
GAME TWO
Oklahoma opened up scoring once again in the second contest of the day, during the first frame, before a two-run homer from Martinez put the Islanders ahead in the second. The second baseman's bomb was his second of the year and extended his current hit streak to 13 straight, as the junior has gone 4-for-11 over his three contests against OU this weekend.
Driving in three runs on as many hits in the sixth, the Sooners took a 7-2 advantage heading into the seventh, before the Islander bats would once again come alive in the ninth. Leading off the frame on a hit by pitch, third baseman
Jackson Owens crossed home plate later in the inning thanks to a
Thomas Jeffries IV single and a fielder's choice RBI for
Nick Anderson.
OU arms Levi Prater and Lane Ramsey recorded the last two outs of the evening to wipe the Blue and Green's second attempt at a comeback on the day, with
RJ Ruiz finishing with a team-high two hits.
Jesse Philps and
Payton Bauer combined for 2.1 innings of relief work, with the former making his first appearance of the 2018 season. Neither Islander reliever tallied an earned run against, while Bauer has kept the Sooners scoreless through 1.2 frames of work this weekend.
- Jeffries recorded four knocks over this Saturday's doubleheader, recording a trio of singles in game one
- Luke Marbach earned three hits in the first leg of the two teams' matchups, posting a career-high three doubles in the process
- Osborn continued his on base streak to 11 straight games, reaching first safely in every game he's made a plate appearance this season
- With a pair of knocks in game two, Ruiz has earned a hit in all six games he's got a start in this year. He's currently hitting .500 on the year
- The Blue and Green fielded a perfect 1.000 for the seventh time this year during game one, the side is currently fielding .979 for the year
COMING UP NEXT
Coach Malone's side will try to avoid the four-game sweep with a series finale against Oklahoma this Sunday at 1 PM. The Blue and Green heads back home for its final game before the start of conference play this Tuesday, facing off with Columbia at Chapman Field at 6 PM.
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- Go Islanders -
