CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – In one of the most improbable, fantastical, remarkable, sensational and astonishing finishes to a baseball game that most anyone could remember, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's
Issac Webb turned on a 2-1 fastball from the best closer in the Southland Conference, crushing a walk-off grand slam and sending the Islanders to an unbelievable 6-3 victory over Lamar on Friday night at Chapman Field.
"That's the stuff you dream about as a little kid," Webb said. "That was the greatest feeling in the world."
It was the Islanders' first home run since April 7, when Webb hit a solo shot against Northwestern State in the ninth inning of a 7-2 victory. This ninth-inning bomb was a little more dramatic.
Trailing 3-0 entering the bottom of the ninth inning to one of the best teams in the country, the Islanders (18-24 overall, 6-7 SLC) began chipping away when
Logan Vaughan blooped a one-out single to center field. It was only TAMU-CC's fifth hit of the game, but it was quickly followed by the sixth when pinch-hitter
Josh Blount smoked a double on the first pitch he saw to drive in Vaughan with the Islanders' first run of the game.
Lamar's Austin Neal, who came into the game with an SLC-best six saves and a 1.99 ERA, was trying for a six-out save after he had retired the side in order in the bottom of the eighth. But instead, he hit
Cole Modgling with a pitch, then walked
Christian Smith-Johnson to load the bases.
Lamar (29-7, 8-2), which came into the game ranked as high as No. 24 in three separate national polls and riding a six-game winning streak, stuck with Neal, who promptly walked No. 9 hitter
Mason Persons to drive in the second run. That brought up Webb, who was 0-for-4 at that point and in danger of seeing his 10-game hitting streak go by the wayside.
The streak is now at 11.
"I kept telling our hitters, just keep putting it together, just keep putting it together, and you feel like at some point you're gonna break that wall down," TAMU-CC coach
Scott Malone said. "We thought we had them with
Garrett Gruell up with the bases loaded (in the fifth inning), but (Brooks Caple) made a great pitch and they end up turning a double play. But our guys kept pushing, and sometimes it comes down to the very last inning and we kept pushing."
Prior to the insanity of the ninth inning, what transpired for 8.5 innings was nothing short of spectacular baseball. Both the Islanders and Cardinals put forth a clinic on pitching and defense that had to be a treat for the multitude of professional scouts that showed up to the Chap.
Lamar's Caple, who leads the SLC in just about every pitching category you can name, showed why there were so many scouts on hand, as he tossed seven innings of superb ball, allowing no runs on four hits and one walk with three strikeouts. The lone blemish on the night was three hit-batters, which doubled his total for the year.
Caple still saw his ERA fall to 1.87 and was able to escape the only trouble he faced all night. After allowing just one runner as far as second base through the first four innings, Caple found himself in a bases-loaded jam with one out in the fifth after Smith-Johnson singled, Persons walked and
Drake Kerr was hit by a pitch. But with Gruell, TAMU-CC's leading power hitter, at the plate, Caple induced a weak ground ball to third for a 5-2-3 double play to end the threat.
"I think when you look at Lamar, you come away tonight understanding why they have the best record in the league," Malone said. "The starting pitching was on point … really good stuff with a ton of strikes. I thought it was an elite defense. Their defense just attacked … every ball that was close to an infield hit for us was an out. And I thought they're outfielders did a great job. It looked like three centerfielders out there running around catching everything."
The Islanders played some spectacular defense as well.
Drake Kerr made a sensational diving catch in left-center field in the fourth inning, and an inning later the Islanders turned their SLC-best 33rd double play of the year when Vaughan caught a pop up in foul territory along the first-base line, then raced over to flip to Webb covering the bag to double up a Lamar baserunner who had broken for second.
It was a harbinger of good things to come for Vaughan, who got the rally started in the ninth.
"We are a good team when we stay within ourselves and try not to do too much," Webb said. "It showed tonight when
Logan Vaughan started us off and
Josh Blount laced one in the gap to score him. Josh has been working a lot recently and it paid off. We just have to keep going and focus on tomorrow. That's the biggest thing."
That the Islanders were even in position to mount a comeback is testament to the yeoman's work on the mound by starter
Matthew Watson.
Watson, who beat the Cardinals 4-3 in the opener of their series last year in Beaumont, went eight strong for the no-decision. The redshirt junior allowed three runs on just five hits with two walks and four strikeouts. He tossed 107 pitches, with just two costing him early.
In the second inning, Watson allowed the first three batters to reach on a pair of singles and walk. But he nearly escaped unscathed when he induced a groundball out and a strikeout looking. But he walked the No. 9 hitter on four pitches before ending the threat, giving Lamar a 1-0 lead.
His only other mistake came an inning later, when he grooved a 3-1 pitch to Lamar catcher Zak Skinner, who blasted an two-run opposite-field home run just to the left of the scoreboard in right field to make it 3-0.
And that was it.
Until the ninth.
"Logan started with a soft single up the middle, the Josh, who has not been getting consistent at-bats, jumps in there and hits a double to really get everybody going," Malone said, fondly reliving the euphoria. "Christian and Mason really had quality at-bat after quality at-bat, and those guys handed it over to Isaac Webb. He's the money guy. He's the big-time guy, and he came through in the clutch when he's supposed to."
Cam Soliz picked up the win after relieving Watson in the ninth. Offensively, the Islanders had seven hits, as Modgling – who was hit twice by pitches – increased his hitting streak to six games with a single, while Kerr and Gruell also singled.
"It was an entertaining game," Malone said. "There were 10-to-12 MLB scouts in the house, and I feel like those guys got their money's worth. It's a great win. Now we gotta try and win a series tomorrow."
TAMUCC (18-24, 6-7 SLC)
Friday, April 19 – vs. Lamar, W (6-3)
Saturday, April 20 – vs. Lamar (29-7, 8-2), 2 p.m., Chapman Field, Corpus Christi
Sunday, April 21 – vs. Lamar (29-7, 8-2), 1 p.m., Chapman Field, Corpus Christi
On Deck: Following the series with Lamar, the Islanders will play a midweek game at Prairie View A&M at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24, followed by a three-game SLC series at New Orleans. The teams will play at 6:30 p.m., Friday, April 26, at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 27 and at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 28.
Home again: The Islanders will return home on Friday, May 3 to begin a three-game conference series with McNeese at Chapman Field. The teams will play at 6 p.m. Friday, May 3, at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 4 and at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 5.
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