ABILENE, Texas - With a plethora of tie-breaking scenarios in line for the final two spots in this year's Southland Conference Championship,Texas A&M-Corpus Christi entered this Saturday's contest with one thing on its mind, getting a win against Abilene Christian and letting the cards fall as they may. The Islanders did what was expected of them, but what happened in the proceeding hours following the game were less than routine.
According to the Southland's written guidelines (
here), the ultimate decider between three tied Islanders, Nicholls and New Orleans squads would ultimately come down to everyone's record against No. 3 Northwestern State, giving the Blue and Green a seventh seed in this season's tournament. However, due to an unwritten bylaw from the league, the initial rule was amended and the SLC tourney's final spots came down to the three teams' records against No. 5 Central Arkansas, giving Nicholls and New Orleans the final two available positions.
Corpus Christi's Saturday game ultimately stands at its last of the 2018 campaign, finishing in ninth overall in the conference, a single spot short of the postseason.
GAME RECAP
The Islanders fell behind for the first time this weekend, coughing up a single run to the hosting Wildcats in the first. The Blue and Green would not stay behind for long however, with
Nick Anderson scoring on a wild pitch in the top half of the second. Anderson led off the frame with his third double of the series on a rope to left field, but his side would fall behind for a second time on the evening after an ACU sac fly.
A huge third inning put Corpus Christi up for good with the side's first five batters all reaching base safely. Starting off the frame with his first walk of the day,
Itchy Burts crossed home plate on a Harrison Dinicola double, before Anderson used another two-bagger to put the visitors up by a comfortable 5-2 lead.
Thomas Jeffries IV rounded out the Islanders scoring in the inning, bringing home Anderson on a sacrifice fly.
The Blue and Green continued to pour it on, with
Drake Osborn sending a no-doubter over the left field wall in the fifth. The sophomore's solo shot was his sixth of the year, bringing his RBI total to 36 on the season.
Enrique Sanchez Jr. drove in his first run of the day on a sac fly in the sixth to put his team up 8-2, adding a second RBI in the eighth to score
Dalton Stark. With the bases loaded later in the inning,
Jackson Owens drove in a run for his sixth straight game, putting the Islanders at double digits for the ninth time in 2018.
The Wildcats pulled a final run back in the bottom half, but it wouldn't be near enough to overcome the Blue and Green's impressive lead, with the final count going to 10-3 on the afternoon.
Posting four innings of shutout relief, right hander
Cole Carter recorded his fifth win of the season, striking out a pair and facing just one over the minimum. Bullpen arms
Chad Romere,
Jesse Philp and
Tate Gillespie combined for an additional 2.2 innings of shutout baseball, as the Islander pitching staff limited their hosts to just 18 hits combined over the weekend.
- With four doubles and a home run, Anderson slugged an unseemly 1.154 against ACU this weekend
- Itchy Burts extended his hitting streak to an outstanding 21 straight contests, with his single in the first
- Corpus Christi out-hit the Wildcats 43-18 over the course of three games, hitting 13-plus knocks in each contest
- The Islanders close out the season with an outstanding 580 hits, giving them 23 more than any other squad in conference
- The Blue and Green close out the year on an 8-1 run in conference play, the program's 30 wins are the most its had since 2014 (31)
GOODBYES
To our eight seniors competing in the final game of their Islander careers,
Scott Balfantz,
Chris Cooper,
Chad Romere,
Cole Carter,
Dalton Stark,
Cam Boudreaux,
Jackson Owens, and
RJ Ruiz, thank you for your hard work and sacrifice, but most of all the memories you've made for the entire Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Baseball staff.
- Go Islanders -
