Senior Day Sweep

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - With eight Texas A&M-Corpus Christi seniors completing their time on the Island this Mother's Day, the Islanders finished their regular season home schedule with a bang, securing the weekend sweep over Incarnate Word on an 8-3 finish this Sunday.

With both sides getting shutout through the opening five and a half frames, the Blue and Green opened this Sunday's scoring for the first time this week, taking a 1-0 advantage in the bottom half of the sixth. Reaching first on a fielder's choice, outfielder Itchy Burts was the first to cross home plate in this week's finale, scoring on a Jackson Owen's double to left center.

The Cardinals retook the lead in the seventh on a two-run homer, before the Islanders would make a comeback for the third time this week, on their biggest inning of their series with UIW.

Senior catcher Scott Balfantz led off the seventh with his second knock of the day, before pinch-runner Cam Boudreaux touched home on a Dalton Stark double to even things at two apiece later in the frame. Stark's knock would spark a five-hit, six-run rally for the home team, with the center fielder scoring the go ahead run on senior RJ Ruiz' single in the following at bat. Enrique Sanchez Jr. and Burts went on to collect back to back singles to drive in another run, before Owens' eighth triple of 2018 cleared the bases for a four-run advantage. The Corpus Christi senior would give his side the sixth, and final run, of the inning on a Nick Anderson single, as the Islanders took a 7-2 strangle hold heading into the final six outs of the contest.

Sanchez collected his second RBI of the day on a sac fly in the bottom of the eighth, before Owens, who split time at both pitcher and designated hitter on Sunday, closed out the final game of the series in the ninth. The right hander coughed up a single run in the final frame, but would keep the damage to a minimum, as the Islander ended the day with an 8-3 advantage.

In his fifth start of the season, righty Chad Romere tossed three scoreless innings for the home team, before getting pulled in relief of lefty Cody Lecompte. Lecompte continued his teammate's big start, holding the Cardinals to four hits and two runs over 3.1 IP, further setting up Owens for his third win of 2018.

With their win on Sunday, the Islanders now sit just two games back of Incarnate Word and New Orleans for the seventh and eighth seeds in this year's Southland Conference Championship tournament, facing off with bottom ranked Abilene Christian in the final regular season series of 2018.

• On a day made for celebrating the final home contest of their careers, Islander seniors accounted for eight of their team's 14 hits, five of eight RBI and five of eight runs scored
• Five Blue and Green players recorded multi-hit performances on Sunday, with senior Dalton Stark going 3-of-4 from the plate 
• Currently on a 10-game hitting streak, Sanchez has had two or more hits in seven contests during that span, and is averaging .533 for the month of May
• Itchy Burts extended his own hit streak to 18 straight games, an Islander season-high. Its been exactly one month since the sophomore failed to register a knock in the box score
• With a single, a double and his fourth triple of the season, Stark was just a home run shy of completing the cycle this Sunday afternoon
• The Islander pitching staff has struck out 25 Cardinal batters over the course of the weekend. UIW came into Friday averaging less than six strikeouts per nine innings, and had tallied a combined 24 over their four contests leading up to their series in Corpus Christi
• With an 11-16 record in conference play, the Blue and Green can clinch a spot in this year's SLC tournament with a sweep against ACU AND an SHSU series win versus Incarnate Word, OR a series win against ACU and an SHSU sweep of the Cardinals (provided Nicholls does not sweep third-ranked Central Arkansas)
• Corpus Christi also has an opportunity to jump New Orleans in this year's standings with a sweep in Abilene, AND a Northwester State sweep of the Privateers

COMING UP NEXT
The Islanders prepare to face last-placed Abilene Christian in a three-game series to close out the 2018 regular season. The Wildcats are currently on a three-game losing streak, and are 2-10 when playing Corpus Christi all-time. 

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