SFA Put Away

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - For the second time, in as many days, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi once again grabbed a lead in the first, this time dropping hosts Stephen F. Austin by a final score of 9-2. The Islanders drew six walks and a pair of HBP to bring their total for the weekend to 16 and four respectively, outhitting the Jacks 11-7 on Saturday.

Doubling in his first at bat of the afternoon, Harrison DiNicola extended his current hitting streak to six games in the opening inning, crossing home plate two batters later on Itchy Burts' two-bagger down the left field line. Enrique Sanchez Jr. recorded his fifth RBI of the weekend on a groundout to second base, scoring outfielder Nick Anderson, who reached on his nation-leading 19th HBP of the 2018 campaign.

Starting right hander Chad Romere was automatic through the first two innings of Saturday's contest retiring his first seven batters faced into the third inning. The redshirt senior gave up a single earned run during his five inning-start, improving his overall record to 2-0 on the year. 

With Romere taking care of things on the mound, the Blue and Green further extended their lead in the fifth off another pair of knocks from Dinicola and Burts. Registering his second double, and third knock, of the afternoon, Dinicola came home on an ambush single from his teammate, as the pair combined for five of the Islanders' 11 hits on the evening. 

Back-to-back knocks from Scott Balfantz and Jackson Owens gave Anderson the chance to load the bases in the seventh frame, as SFA intentionally walked the Corpus Christi junior for another Burts RBI-opportunity. The sophomore earned his third RBI of the day on a six-pitch walk, as the Islanders began to take command with a 4-1 lead. 

The visiting team would not be done scoring however, as the Islanders batted through the order in the eighth for another five runs. Owens' double down the right field line scored Andriud Martinez early in the frame, while a pair of bases loaded walks from Anderson and Burts pushed their side's lead to 7-1. Dinicola scored his third run of the contest on a wild pitch in the inning, as Sanchez finished the Blue and Green scoring with his RBI-infield single.

Up by a commanding 9-1 advantage, southpaw Cody LeCompte returned to the mound to close things out, and register the first save of his career on the Island. The lefty made a huge relief appearance for his side, tossing the final four innings of play, to help Corpus Christi save their remaining bullpen for Sunday's finale. Lecompte surrendered three hits and a single unearned run during his time on the hill, as he and Romere an SFA side averaging nearly six runs per nine innings to just two in Saturday's 9-2 victory.

• Dinicola tied a season-high with three hits against the Jacks, the junior has hit in his last six appearances, while reaching first in eight consecutive
• Burts set a new career-high with his four RBI, extending his own hitting streak to five. He's been averaging .413 with 11 RBI since entering the regular starting lineup at the start of the month
• Enrique Sanchez has driven in six runs over two games against SFA this weekend, hitting in his previous four appearances
• Steven Rivera-Chijin recorded his third multi-hit game of the season, on a pair of singles in the fourth and eighth innings
• Recording his third HBP of the weekend, Anderson leads the country in the category with a total of 19 in 2018. He's touched first in six straight games
• Lecompte has made three straight trips to the hill without surrendering an earned run (6.1 IP), dropping his season ERA to 2.16
• Romere has been scary effective in his only two starts of the year, he's given up two earned runs over nine innings, with hitters averaging .167 against him in those two games

COMING UP NEXT
The Islanders look to complete their first Southland Conference season sweep of 2018 with Sunday's finale scheduled for 1 PM. Dustin Lacaze is set to make that start for the Blue and Green, as his side looks for its third straight win.

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