CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – After a two-run seventh inning gave Texas A&M-Corpus Christi the late lead, Houston answered with runs in the following three frames to send it to extras and deliver the final blow in a 4-3, 10-inning rubber match Sunday at Whataburger Field.
A&M-Corpus Christi's
Hayden Thomas turned in an impressive performance on the mound, tossing seven scoreless frames and fanning 12 batters in his second start.
Both sides failed to capitalize on early chances, as the Islanders totaled four hits through six before back-to-back singles from
Mike Williams and
Leo Markotic followed by a Houston miscue broke the scoring dry spell for a 1-0 home club advantage. The margin later doubled to a 2-0 lead thanks to a
Luke Marbach sacrifice fly that helped Markotic cross the plate.
Houston momentarily deflated the cushion with a Brad Burckel solo shot in the eighth, but
Josh Caraway whacked his own left-field homer in the home half to put the Islanders back ahead by two, 3-1, going to the final act.
The Cougars continued to claw into A&M-Corpus Christi's edge as a leadoff homer made it a one-run affair before a pair of costly Islander errors evened the see-saw battle three-all.
A&M-Corpus Christi quickly put away three outs with an ensuing double play and strikeout but the damage had already been done and pushed the Islanders to its first extra-inning contest this season.
Brandon Uhse's double down the left field line brought home the deciding run, as Houston started the frame with a runner on second as part of the newly implemented MLB extra innings rule. In the home half, the Islanders loaded to bases on a walk and hit by pitch, but Houston drew the fielder's choice to claim the rubber match in a back-and-forth series.
The Islanders commence a nine-game road swing with a midweek meeting against Texas on Tuesday, March 2 at 6:30 p.m.
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