CONWAY, Ark. - If Friday's contest is indicative of how this weekend's series will play out, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is in a perfect position, after routing Central Arkansas 16-3 in game one. The Islanders jumped on the Bears early in the contest and never looked back, as starting catcher
Drake Osborn recorded a pair of home runs in the series opener.
With the Blue and Green loading the bases on their first three plate appearances of the afternoon,
Nick Anderson drove in the first run of the contest on a sacrifice fly to left field, followed by back-to-back singles from
Enrique Sanchez Jr. and
Andriud Martinez to move the advantage to 3-0. Stepping in the box for his first at bat of the night, Osborn launched a three-run jack over the left field wall to put the visiting side ahead 6-0, as Corpus Christi batted through the order in the opening frame.
Dinicola would add the Islanders' seventh run of the afternoon on a sac fly in the second, before the Blue and Green once again loaded the bases in the top of the sixth. Another sac fly from
Jackson Owens would make it an eight-run game, before Dinicola drove in his second and third runs of the night on a double to right center.
The Bears pulled three back in the bottom half of the frame in what had been a one-sided affair to that point, as starting Corpus Christi pitcher
Aaron Hernandez finished his night with three runs allowed over 5.2 IP.
Martinez recorded his second hit of the night in the top half of the seventh to set up Osborn for his second homer of the night, giving the Islanders a full dozen heading into the eighth. The runs would continue to pile on for the away side in the following frame, with Owens leading off the inning with his seventh triple of the season. Dinicola's third RBI of the night would come on a groundout in the following at bat, while a Martinez single, a wild pitch and a
Dalton Stark sac fly tacked on another four runs for the Blue and Green.
With both sides going scoreless in the final frame, the night's final score would reflect a 16-3 final in favor of the Islanders, as Corpus Christi accrued season-high 18 knocks on the afternoon.
- Itchy Burts recorded a single in each of his first three at bats, extending his hitting streak to eight straight games. Burts has hit in all but one contest in the month of April, recording seven multi-hit performances during that timeframe
- Dinicola extended his own hit streak to nine contests, finishing the night with four RBI
- This is the second time this season Drake Osborn has gone yard twice in one day, recording a homer in each of the Islanders' doubleheader matchups against Utah Valley earlier this season
- With his two bombs, Osborn is now tied with Dinicola for a team-high, as the two have five apiece
- Osborn drove in five runs in the Blue and Green's opener against UCA, a new career-high for the sophomore
- In addition to scoring a season-high in runs (16) and recording a season-high in hits (18), the Islanders' four sac flies are the most they've recorded in a single contest in 2018
COMING UP NEXT
The Blue and Green now lead its all-time series with the Bears at 15-14-2, and look to secure their second SLC series in a row with Saturday's 4 PM contest.
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- Go Islanders -
