CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was unable to delete an early Sam Houston lead this Saturday, taking a loss in game two of the series 5-3. Eight Islanders recorded knocks on the afternoon as the Blue and Green outhit the visiting Bearkats 10-8, but was unable to even the series at home with their second loss of the weekend.
Early runs would again boost SHSU, as the visitors tallied a pair on three hits in the second frame. The Islanders properly responded with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning, as senior shortstop
RJ Ruiz drove in his seventh of the year on an RBI groundout.
The Blue and Green spotted the Bearkats another two runs over the following frame, as Corpus Christi arms
Aaron Hernandez and
Payton Bauer would go on to hold the visiting side scoreless until the seventh. A double and an Islander error in that frame would put the Islanders at a 5-1 advantage, before the Blue and Green bats sprang to life in the ninth.
After Bauer proceeded to strike out the side in the top half of the inning, pinch hitter
Enrique Sanchez Jr. slotted a leadoff single through the right side to open up the bottom of the final frame, to give the Islanders an early runner.
Back-to-back doubles from
Harrison DiNicola and
Drake Osborn plated a pair of runs to bring the home side to within striking distance, but the Blue and Green would ultimately run out of outs as the contest ended on a pair of fly outs.
Freshman
Payton Bauer supplied the biggest performance of his career thus far, tossing 3.2 innings of relief at the back end of the Saturday evening affair. The righty struck out seven batters while giving up just two hits and an earned run, facing just three over the minimum during his time on the hill.
- With two hits on the afternoon, starting catcher Drake Osborn continued his on-base streak to 14 games. Osborn's reached first safely in every game he's made a plate appearance this season
- Enrique Sanchez Jr. earned his second knock of the year as a pinch hitter, he's averaging .333 as a sub, with a .429 OBP
- Starting in all 19 of the Islanders' games this season, Dinicola has failed to reach first in just two appearances this season, extending his hitting streak to four games this Saturday
- With his fourth inning single, Thomas Jeffries IV is currently on a nine-game on base streak
- Registering a career-high seven strikeouts, Bauer's K/9 has exploded to 14.63 on the year
COMING UP NEXT
The Islanders prepare for their finale against Sam Houston State, looking to avoid the Bearkat sweep in Sunday's 1 PM contest.
Corpus Christi's upcoming contest against SHSU can be followed via the live stream provided by the Islander Digital Network, powered by AEP Texas.
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- Go Islanders -
