Islanders Rout Lions

HAMMOND, La. - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi ended the weekend on a win this Sunday, subjecting their hosts Southeastern Louisiana to a 13-7 beating at Alumni Field. Eight Islander hitters recorded hits on the day, led by three apiece from Jackson Owens and Itchy Burts.

Batting one and two in the lineup, Owens and Burts opened their contest with the Lions on back-to-back singles, before a sacrifice fly from Harrison DiNicola drove in the former for a 1-0 lead.

The Lions would respond quickly with four of their own over the first two frames, before the Blue and Green came back with a five-run third. The Islanders batted around during that inning while collecting six hits and a walk. Owens and Burts once again recorded a single apiece, followed by a Dinicola knock that would give the first baseman his second RBI of the afternoon. 

With three runners still standing on base, a walk from Enrique Sanchez Jr., and two more hits from Dalton Stark and Scott Balfantz made things 5-4 in Corpus Christi's advantage. Second baseman Cam Boudreaux rounded out the scoring on a sac fly, and the Islanders would stand out in front 6-4 heading into the fourth. 

Down by a pair, the home side refused to say die however, tying things up at 6-6 on a solo shot to right field. Both sides would score in the fifth, with Balfantz picking up another RBI single, while Boudreaux recorded his second sacrifice fly of the evening.

Ahead by a single run, the Islanders scored the final five runs of the contest, as Stark tallied his third triple of 2018. Corpus Christi outhit the Lions 7-0 in the final five frames, with freshmen A.G. Ayala and Payton Bauer combining for six innings of hitless relief. The two first-years combined for seven of the Islanders' 10 Ks while facing six over the minimum, as Ayala picked up his second win of the season and Bauer collected the first save of his career. 

• With three hits apiece, Owens and Burts' went back-to-back in the first, third and ninth innings
• Owens' bases clearing double in the ninth proved to be the nail in the coffin for the Lions, as the starting pitcher/designated hitter drove in a game-high three runs
• Burts is currently on a four-game hitting streak, and is averaging .406 in his eight starts in 2018
• Stark finishes the series against SELU 4-for-11 (.364) while drawing a pair of walks and driving in three runs
• Five Islanders had multi-hit efforts on Sunday, while Boudreaux''s two RBI are a season-high
• Nick Anderson was hit by pitch for the 14th time this season, after wearing a pitch in the top half of the ninth. He was already in a tie for 33rd in the country with his 10 HBP entering this weekend

COMING UP NEXT
Having finished their series in Hammond, Corpus Christi will next head into a midweek contest with Houston Baptist this approaching Tuesday, facing off against the Huskies in Sugar Land at 3 PM. 

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