Islanders Toughened in Loss to No. 21 TCU

FORT WORTH, Texas - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's baseball team fell to No. 21 TCU 17-6 at Williams-Reilly Field to begin a five-game road stretch.

"I loved the start and those two innings were beyond my expectations," said head coach Scott Malone. "TCU has ultra-talented arms and they were bringing it. They made us pay when we made a mistake in the strike zone. We don't have to sit around and think about it though as we will be on the road soon for a game against Tarleton State tomorrow."

The Islanders fought valiantly in the first inning, taking an early 1-0 lead as sophomore Brandon Petkoff came in to score off of a ground out by fellow sophomore Max Puls. The Horned Frogs came back to tie the game at one apiece in the bottom of the inning, setting the scene for an Islanders' response. Senior Cassius Shy, a left-handed pitcher made the start on the mound for the Islanders where he only allowed one hit in his first inning of work.

Headed into the second inning, the bats continued catching fire for A&M-Corpus Christi as the team scored four runs in the top half. Senior Steven Rivera-Chijin began the inning with a double before scoring a couple of plays later, helping the Islanders regain the lead, 2-1. Sophomore Tyler Linneweber walked to reach first, before moving to second on a Petkoff single. Both base runners stole a base before Josh Caraway, a sophomore, hit a home run all the way out to left field for a four-run lead. They held a 5-4 lead after the bottom of the inning.

No Islanders scored a run in the third inning, however, the team forced a pitching change after only two and one-third innings. Freshman Clay Westbrook came in, relieving Shy, to kick off the bottom half. TCU came back to tie the game at 5-5 before three straight outs ended the inning. In the fourth inning, the Frogs struck back, taking a two-run lead to bring out sophomore Kennedy Parks to pitch.

Junior Justin Taylor cut the deficit in the top of the fifth inning after being hit by a pitch to get on base. A Rivera-Chijin walk and single by sophomore Tre Jones brought Taylor in, leaving the Islanders only behind by a run. Junior Justin Lewis entered the game in the bottom fifth with an out in the game. TCU earned four runs in the half to extend their lead to 11-6.

Lewis returned to pitch in the bottom of the seventh after a quiet top half. After recording an out, he exited the game as Malone sent in JT Moeller, a sophomore, for relief. Moeller didn't disappoint, earning two swinging strikeouts, ending the inning. He pitched 1.2 innings before sophomore Sebastian Mejia came into the game. Mejia finished out the matchup as the game came to a close in eight innings.

The Islanders will take on Tarleton State in Stephenville, Texas tomorrow at 6:30 p.m.

Stay Social
For more information on Islanders Baseball, follow the team on Twitter (@IslandersBSB), Instagram (@IslandersBSB) and like their Facebook page (Islanders Baseball).
 
#ShakasUp