CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Opening Southland Conference play this Friday at Chapman Field, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi finished on the wrong side of a 3-1 decision against visiting Sam Houston State. A pitching duel between Islander starter
Dustin Lacaze and SHSU ace Hayden Wesneski kept the night's contest a low scoring affair, with the two team's combing for 15 hits over the course of the evening.
The Bearkats took the early advantage in the first inning, with a pair of singles and a sac fly putting the visiting side ahead by a single run. Lacaze surrendered just four hits over the proceeding six innings, on the way to striking out six Sam Houston batters during his time on the hill. The right hander issued a single walk over his seven innings of work, shutting down the Bearkats after the opening frame, before eventually giving up his second, and last, earned run of the night in the seventh.
Corpus Christi's
Cole Carter would take over for Lacaze to start the eighth, giving up a single earned run and striking out three of the nine batters he faced to close out the contest. The righty's 16 Ks over the course of the year trail only starters Lacaze (27) and
Aaron Hernandez (34) for a team-high, and the senior is now averaging 11.37 K/9 in 2018.
Spraying four hits across seven innings, the Islander offense was held in check until the eighth, when a
Harrison DiNicola triple put the junior in scoring position with just a single out in the frame. The Corpus Christi first baseman was eventually driven in on a sac fly from
Jackson Owens, diminishing SHSU's lead to just two runs, but were unable to mount anymore scoring over the remainder of the final two stanzas.
- Lacaze's performance is his second quality start of 2018, while his 3.07 ERA is the top mark among his team's regular three-man rotation
- Dinicola finished his night going 2-for-4 from the plate, with teammate Nick Anderson earning a pair of knocks as well
- With a pair of walks, Thomas Jeffries IV has reached first safely in his past eight appearances
- RJ Ruiz has reached first safely in all eight of his starts this season, after driving a double down the right field line in the third against SHSU
- Dinicola's triple improves the juniors extra-base total to 12 on the year, boosting his slugging average to a team-best .714 in 2018
COMING UP NEXT
The Islanders continue their series with the Bearkats on Saturday at 4 PM, looking to even the weekend at game apiece and set up a rubber match in this Sunday's finale at 1 PM.
The Islanders' upcoming contests against SHSU can be followed via the live stream provided by the Islander Digital Network, powered by AEP Texas.
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