CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Looking for its first sweep in Southland Conference play, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi came up just short against McNeese this Sunday, falling to the Cowboys by a final of 11-6. The Islanders do walk away with a series win however, after recording a pair of victories this Friday and Saturday.
The visiting side got off to a hot start in this one, recording a pair of homers in the opening frame for an early 3-0 lead. The Blue and Green responded with a long ball of their own in the bottom half however, to limit the Cowboys' lead to just a single run. With
Itchy Burts' leadoff single,
Harrison DiNicola dropped his seventh bomb of the season, and his second of the series, to get his squad on the board in the opening frame.
A big third inning for McNeese would be the ultimate downfall for the Islanders, as the Cowboys hung eight runs off of five hits and a pair of Corpus Christi errors.
Down by 11-2 the Islanders continued to chip away at their opponents' lead, scoring their third run of the afternoon in the bottom half of the frame.
Enrique Sanchez Jr. recorded his second of three knocks in the third, before coming around on a
Nick Anderson single up the middle.
The home team went on to add another run in each of the next three successive innings, with
Drake Osborn driving in
Jackson Owens on the first triple of his career in the fourth and
Andriud Martinez crossing home on a passed ball in the fifth. Sanchez would find home plate in the bottom of the sixth for his team's last run of the day, once again getting driven in on an Anderson hit.
In all, the Islanders proceeded to outhit their weekend rivals 15-9 on the day, but with 15 men left stranded, the home team was forced to suffer the game three loss.
Cody LeCompte and
A.G. Ayala combined for seven innings without an earned run against, with the latter surrendering just a single base runner during his four frames spent on the mound. Ayala recorded a personal-high with six strikeouts on the afternoon, as the freshman faced just one over the minimum to close out this week's finale.
- The Islanders were undeniable at the plate on Sunday, with eight different players tallying hits, six of which logged multi-hit performances
- Sanchez had a three-hit day once again, giving the third baseman three straight performances with three knocks. Currently on a 10-game hitting streak, the junior has been averaging .484 since April 27th
- With his two hits, Burts has now registered the longest hitting streak of the year for the Islanders, recording a knock in each of his last 15 games
- The Islanders outhit McNeese 41-25 over the two's three game series, carrying an advantage in the extra-base hits category 10-5
- Finishing 2-for-5 on the afternoon, Andriud Martinez hit 6-for-13 (.462) against the Cowboys overall, he's averaging .388 since April 10th
- On a seven-game hitting streak, Drake Osborn has been automatic with runners in scoring position lately, driving in 10 runs over his current streak
- With their loss this afternoon, the Islanders currently sit three games back of Nicholls for the eighth and final spot in the Southland Conference tournament. There are six games remaining for the Blue and Green in conference-play
COMING UP NEXT
For the first time since early March the Islanders will go without a midweek contest in the coming days, next facing Incarnate Word at home for a three-game stand the following Friday through Sunday. Corpus Christi has a chance to move up the SLC standings in the coming series, currently sitting five games back of the Cardinals, while taking fwo of three against UIW in San Antonio last year.
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