SAN ANTONIO – Sebastian Trinidad went 4-for-5 with three RBIs,
Cole Modgling was 3-for-5 with two RBIs, and
Garrett Gruell was 2-for-6 with a home run that might still be rolling as the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball team snapped a season-high six-game losing streak with a decisive 11-5 win over UIW on Saturday at Sullivan Field.
Chance Reisdorph also had multiple hits with a 2-for-5 day as the Islanders (11-16 overall, 1-1 in the Southland Conference) established a season high in hits with 15. Both of Reisdorph's hits were doubles as the Islanders also tied a season high in doubles – set in the season opener – with four.
Stephen Hom also had a double and drove in two, giving him six of his seven RBIs this season in his past two games.
"
Cole Modgling and Stevie Hom were really good for us today," A&M-Corpus Christi coach
Scott Malone said. "Those guys have not been playing every day, and they got their chance to come in in a conference game. They were on base all day. They did a really good job of jumpstarting our offense."
The beneficiary of all that offense was
Riely Hunsaker, who shook off a two-run home run in the first inning to earn his third win of the season. The junior from Missouri allowed five runs on eight hits in six innings, walked two and struck out five on 97 pitches.
"
Riely Hunsaker was really good," Malone said. "They put two great swings on him early and got a two-run lead, but then he settled down and started putting zeros up. He gave the hitters a great opportunity to get the lead back, and they did it. I was really proud of the guys."
The Islanders fell behind for the fifth time in seven games after the two-run first inning, but the lead didn't last long.
Modgling got the Islanders on the board with an RBI single in the second, then Trinidad tied it with an RBI single in the third. Trinidad then untied it in the fourth, looping a single to right-center to drive in
Bryce Logan and Modgling, giving the Islanders a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
Trinidad was on base five times with four singles and a walk, raising his average to a team-high .352 and his on-base percentage to a team-best .420. Trinidad also is second on the team in slugging percentage at .477, which is 100 points behind the leader, Gruell.
Oh, yeah. Gruell.
After the Cardinals scored two runs to make it interesting at 9-4, Gruell added some emphatic insurance by turning on the first pitch he saw in the seventh inning and obliterating a ball that might be the longest home run either team will see this year. The ball was hit so savagely and left the atmosphere so quickly, not a single UIW defender bothered to move.
The two-run tank drove in Trinidad – who else – and set the stage for a decisive third game today to decide the entertaining SLC-opening series.
"I thought
Sebastian Trinidad was outstanding," Malone said. "He continues to have just grade-A at-bat after Grade-A at-bat. I thought late in the game when they were making a push to get back in it, he had a huge two-out at-bat to extend an inning and get it to
Garrett Gruell. Then
Garrett Gruell hit one a mile. They really put the finishing touches on the game, so again, good Saturday win for us. We have a great opportunity to win a series tomorrow."
TAMUCC (11-16, 1-1 SLC)
March 22 – at UIW, L (12-2, 7 inn.)
March 23 – at UIW, W (11-5)
March 24 – at UIW (14-7, 1-1), 1 p.m., Sullivan Field, San Antonio
On Deck: Following the series with the Cardinals, the Islanders will travel to Austin to play No. 23 Texas at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Next Home Game: The Islanders will return to Chapman Field on March 28 to begin a three-game series with Nicholls. Game 1 will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 28, followed by games at 6 p.m. Friday, March 29 and 1 p.m. Saturday, March 30.
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