Islanders Fall To Nebraska In Battle of the Bats

LINCOLN, Neb. - The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball team fell 13-12 to Nebraska at Hawks Park in a battle of the bats Friday night.

"It's a tough loss for us," said head coach Scott Malone. "The hitters had a great night against a talented team. There's a lot of strength and experience on the mound, but they're in a rut right now. They will get it turned around. We need to have a good game tomorrow with [junior] Hayden Thomas on the mound."

For the fourth game in a row, the Islanders drew first blood in the game, scoring two runs in the top of the first for an early 2-0 lead. In the first at-bat of the day, senior Steven Rivera-Chijin doubled out to left field, putting a runner in scoring position immediately. Sophomore Brendan Ryan grounded out in the next play, but the play permitted Rivera-Chijin to advance to third base. Josh Caraway, a fellow sophomore, ensured Rivera-Chijin made it home with a home run out to left field. The inning would end a few plays later, leaving sophomore Wesley Mitchell on base, who got there on a walk.

Senior Tyler Miller made the start on the mound for A&M-Corpus Christi and promptly struck out the first batter he faced of the day. He repeated the same concoction for the fourth and sixth batters to end the inning after the Huskers tied the game up at 2-2.

Knowing the game was tied and more was needed, junior Justin Taylor stepped up to the plate to hit a ball out to left for a single. Catching on to the trend, sophomore Nate White followed suit by hitting another ball out to the left side, advancing Taylor to second base. Tyler Linneweber, a sophomore, hit a sacrifice bunt, permitting the runners to each take an additional base, paying off in the next at-bat when Rivera-Chijin hit a sacrifice fly to bring Taylor home. A ground out ended the inning as the Islanders held a 3-2 lead. Once again, Nebraska tied the game at three apiece in the bottom of the second.

The scoring continued in favor of A&M-Corpus Christi with a huge third inning as the team brought in three runs to extend its lead to 6-3. Sophomore Brandon Petkoff singled in the top of the third before Mitchell doubled down the left-field line to advance Petkoff over to third. Freshman Cole Modgling came in to pinch run for Petkoff, later moving over to right field. Taylor reached on catcher's interference, loading the bases for the Islanders with two outs. White was walked in the next at-bat, bringing in Modgling to add another run to the board. Linneweber singled shortly after, earning two RBIs as Taylor and Mitchell each came back to the plate. The hit forced yet another pitching change for Nebraska before a line out ended the half-inning.

In the bottom half of the inning, Miller ended his night on a strikeout swinging as Jaime Ramirez Jr., a sophomore, came in for relief with one out in the inning. In the next at-bat, the Huskers scored before a line out ended the inning with the Islanders holding on to a 6-4 lead.

The next two innings remained silent with no scores coming in for either team. Ramirez Jr. showed his prowess on the mound with two strikeouts in the fifth inning, not allowing a run to come in during the two innings. The Huskers struck back in the bottom of the sixth, scoring once more before senior Henry Bird came in for the Islanders. In the inning, the Islanders fell behind 9-6, but Bird struck out the last batter to put A&M-Corpus Christi back behind the plate.

Max Puls, a sophomore, wasted no time in getting the Islanders back into the fight, hitting a double out to left field to put himself in scoring position. With a new pitcher in the game, Taylor hit a fly ball out to left field which advanced Puls to third. White walked to put runners on the corners for A&M-Corpus Christi before Linneweber reached on a fielder's choice, getting White to second and Puls home. The score remained 9-7 in favor of Nebraska, but the effort forced the second pitching change of the inning.

Rivera-Chijin reached base on a throwing error by the pitcher, bringing Linneweber to third and White to home, scoring another run for the Islanders. Ryan was intentionally walked to load the bases with only one out in the inning. Caraway and Caden Queck, a sophomore pinch-hitting in place of Modgling, both walked, bringing in two runs to regain the lead, 10-9. Bird made quick work of the batters in the bottom of the inning, facing four while striking one out.

The bats blazed on for A&M-Corpus Christi as the team went on to score two more runs in the top of the eighth inning. White and Linneweber reached base on walks, forcing another pitching change. Both runners advanced on the next play before Ryan singled through the right side, bringing in both base runners to score, extending the lead to 12-9. Senior Daniel Nelson came into the game for his sixth appearance on the season in the bottom half to strike out one batter in the inning. The Islanders wouldn't score in the top of the ninth, but Nebraska scored four runs to take the win.

A&M-Corpus Christi and Nebraska will face each other again for game two tomorrow at 2:05 p.m. at Hawks Field.

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