AUSTIN, Texas – Going into Austin and taking down a team no stranger to the top-25, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball team delivered a 4-1 victory over Texas for the first time in five years Tuesday night at Disch-Falk Field.
The Islanders (13-16) batted through the Texas (15-10) bullpen and got past for four runs, including a three-run blast from sophomore
Christian Smith-Johnson as that swing stamped the early triumph. Meanwhile, A&M-Corpus Christi's pitching locked in and locked down the Longhorns' bats to just one run off five hits.
Senior
Samuel Feltz was awarded the win after entering in the third to throw two scoreless innings. The whole pitching staff kept Texas scoreless until the eighth including starter
Jack Hill, and then senior
Maddox Thornton headed to the mound in the ninth where he posted the three-up, three-down save after sitting the last batter down swinging.
"It was obviously a great night for us, the pitching staff was amazing," said head coach
Scott Malone. "Those guys set the tone for the get-go. We never let the Longhorns' talented offense get started. We were able to retire the lead-off guy in eight of the nine innings. It was a great job by our pitching coach,
Scott Kelly, and the entire pitching staff."
Offensively, the Islanders outhit the Longhorns 7-5 as their knocks proved more efficient for the final three-run advantage. Smith-Johnson finished the night 2-for-3 with his three RBIs while junior
Stephen Hom also went 2-for-3 at the plate with the other RBI of the night.
Homa and senior
Cole Modgling each took an 0-1 count and knocked a base hit for two on before Smith-Johnson stepped up and hammered one over the left field fence for three runs in the second. Feltz and junior
Cam Soliz continued to quiet the Longhorns through five keep their offense ahead.
In the sixth, junior
Josh Blount drew the lead-off walk before getting into scoring position in the next at-bat. Hom got down in the count 0-2 but settled in and sent one to left that bounced out for the ground-rule double to send Blount home for the insurance.
The Islanders wouldn't get any others on until the ninth, but they had already proven their job was done once Thornton shut down Texas in order in the bottom frame to secure the victory.
"Christian had the big hit in the second that helped give us some space early. It was a big night for him, he's a talented player but I still don't think he's gotten completely hot yet. I think the best is yet to come from him. Several guys had good at-bats tonight, too, like Modgling and Hom. It was just a well played game by both teams and our pitching was probably the story of the night," said Malone.
It marked A&M-Corpus Christi's sixth-ever win over the Longhorns and first since 2019 when they won 8-2 at home. It is the first time the Islanders beat Texas in Austin since 2016, with five of their six wins over the Longhorns having been in the capital city.
Additionally, it is A&M-Corpus Christi's first win over a Power Five school since the 2022 season when they took two of three from Nebraska on the road. The Islanders defeated Houston last year in a 12-2 run-rule, right before the Cougars joined the Big 12.
The Islanders will return home fresh off the momentum to host Nicholls in a three-game series to continue conference play. They will move to a Thursday-Friday-Saturday format this weekend at Chapman Field.
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