Demons Squeeze By Blue and Green

NATCHITOCHES, La. - Searching for its fourth straight victory, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi fell on the wrong end of an exciting 7-6 decision this Saturday, as Northwestern State evened the two teams' series at a game apiece.

The Islanders scored in the first inning for the 11th time in 2018, to go ahead 2-0 in the opening frame. Corpus Christi's first four batters all reached safely to open the contest, as starting third baseman Jackson Owens drove in Luke Marbach and Harrison DiNicola on a bases loaded single, to gain his team the early advantage.

The afternoon's contest seemed to be on its way toward a blowout after the second, as the Islanders once again loaded the bases for Nick Anderson. The Blue and Green outfielder recorded his first knock of the evening in that at bat, to score another two runs for Coach Malone's side and give the Islanders a four-run lead.

NSU cut into the Corpus Christi advantage in the bottom half of the frame with a solo shot to left field, going on to score five unanswered runs over the proceeding three innings and take its first lead of this week's series.

Combining for just five hits from the fifth through the eighth, the Islanders and Demons' score remained at 6-5 heading into the ninth, giving Corpus Christi one final chance at evening things. 

Having scored 12 runs in the ninth thus far this year, the Blue and Green added another two to that total with their performance in the final frame. With their backs against the wall, Marbach drew a two out walk before advancing on a Dinicola single, as Anderson would once again step into the box with runners in scoring position.

Not satisfied with tying things at six, Anderson belted a two-strike double to left field to score both Marbach and Dinicola for the go ahead run, as the Islanders retook the lead for the first time since the fourth and seemed to secure another win over the Demons.

The Blue and Green finished on the wrong side of a walk-off for the first time this year however, as a trio of NSU hits and an error put the home team back ahead, as the winning run scored on the final at bat of the afternoon.

• After setting a career-high with five RBI against UHV this past Wednesday, Anderson added another four against the Demons. He's driven in 10 runs over his past three appearances, and now sits second only to Dinicola (18) for a team lead
• With seven hits, two home runs and three HBP over his past four contests, Anderson has been slashing .438/.550/1.000 since March 20th
• Collecting three singles and a walk, Dincola reached safely in all but one of his plate appearances against NSU, while continuing his hit streak to nine games
• Dinicola has almost never failed to get on base this year, touching first in all but two games this season. His slashline is sitting at .438/.548/.844 during his current hitting streak
• Marbach once again showed poise and patience at the plate, collecting two walks against the Demons pitching staff. The designated hitter has drawn a team-high seven bases on balls in the Islanders' last three games
• Left hander A.G. Ayala extended his streak of scoreless relief appearances to eight, with two innings of work against NSU. The freshman is yet to surrender an earned run during his time in an Islander uniform

COMING UP NEXT
The Blue and Green will attempt to win their first Southland Conference series of the year in Sunday's finale against the Demons. The Islanders have outscored NSU 12-8 through the first two games of this weekends' matchups, as eight of the team's nine starters have reached first safely in both contests.

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