NATCHITOCHES, Texas - Scoring eight unanswered runs to close out the last six innings of Sunday's finale, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi dropped Northwestern Sate on the road by a count of 8-3 to secure the Islanders' first Southland Conference series win of 2018.
Spotting their opponent three runs in the opening three frames, the Blue and Green stormed back from their early deficit in the fourth to even things up at three apiece. Starting pitcher, and designated hitter,
Jackson Owens led off the frame with a walk, while a
Thomas Jeffries IV single put runners in scoring position for second baseman
Andriud Martinez. Martinez responded with a double to left field, while a
Scott Balfantz sac fly would bring Corpus Christi within a single run.
Enrique Sanchez Jr. tallied his first RBI of the day with a bases loaded groundout, as things remained even going into the fifth.
Leading off for a second straight inning,
Jackson Owens sent a fly ball over the left field wall for his first homer of 2018, scoring what would be the deciding run of the afternoon. Jeffries followed Owens' at bat with a walk, eventually scoring on a
Dalton Stark single later in the inning to give his side a two-run advantage.
Already recording two hits on the day, Sanchez continued to drive in runs on the back end of the contest. The starting third baseman recorded a total of three RBI on the day, bringing in
Andriud Martinez on a single in the seventh, and scoring the second baseman a once again on a sac fly in the ninth. The Islanders finished off the Demons by a final score of 8-3, while outhitting the home team 13-8, as eight of the Islanders' starting nine recorded knocks on the afternoon.
Freshman righty
Leonel Perez picked up his fourth win of the year, coming out of the pen in relief of starter
Jackson Owens. Perez kept the Demons to just a single hit over his five innings of work, while striking out a pair. The Palmview native faced just one over the minimum in his time on the bump, watching his season ERA plummet to 1.40 over his past three appearances.
- Sanchez finished his day 3-for-5 at the plate, while driving in a career-high three runs
- Martinez and Balfantz each tallied a pair of hits while the former crossed home plate three times, tying his personal best as an Islander
- Harrison Dinicola extended his hit streak to ten straight, on the way to drawing a pair of walks
- Perez has not allowed an earned run in his last three trips to the mound. He's given up just three hits over his last 14.0 innings thrown, surrendering just seven knocks all year
COMING UP NEXT
The Islanders face one of their toughest opponents of the season, squaring off with No. 11 Texas A&M at Whataburger Field this Tuesday. The Blue and Green are 1-0 against top-25 opponents this season, and are 3-0 at Whataburger this year, after sweeping the 2018 Kleberg Bank College Classic.
The Islanders' upcoming contest against the No. 11 Aggies can be followed via the live stream provided by the Islander Digital Network, powered by AEP Texas.
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- Go Islanders -
