PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – Fresh off of taking 2-of-3 games from Southland Conference leader Lamar last weekend, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball team couldn't maintain the momentum Wednesday in a messy 10-8 loss to Prairie View A&M at Tankersley Field.
The Islanders (19-26) trailed 2-1 after one inning and spent the rest of the day in catchup mode. The Panthers (21-22) scored all 10 of their runs in the first five innings off of four TAMU-CC pitchers. Not until
Samuel Feltz entered in the fifth inning and
Riely Hunsaker in the seventh did the Islanders slow the Panthers down.
Feltz went 1.1 innings, allowing no runs and no hits with two strikeouts in 1.1 innings. Hunsaker – normally the Day 2 starter for the Islanders during conference series – didn't allow a run or a hit either in two innings of work.
Cam Soliz got his first start of the season and took the loss, allowing three runs on four hits with two hit-batters in 2.1 innings.
Austin Dean,
Kendall Dove and
Joshua Flaugher followed, combining to give up seven runs on eight hits in 2.1 innings.
All told, PVAM collected 12 hits and stole six bases as every starter but two had a hit and every starter but one scored a run. Left fielder Michael Burroughs was particularly troublesome, falling a double shy of the cycle with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Conversely, while the Islanders did have 15 hits – tied for their third-most this season – they stranded 12 runners, were caught stealing three times and had one runner picked off base.
"We were just sloppy, sloppy in several areas," TAMU-CC coach
Scott Malone said. "When you hit batters and walk batters, they are going to get a big hit and drive those guys in. We did not hold runners at all – they ran on us all day. We were not very good at the details today and it cost us."
They were pretty good on offense, however.
Issac Webb ran his hitting streak to a career-high 14 games with a huge 4-for-6 day, raising his average to .364 and giving him a team-high 19 games with multiple hits. He also stole is 15th base of the year, which is the second-most in the SLC.
Webb wasn't alone, as
Stephen Hom went 3-for-4 with a double – which nearly left the yard for a three-run home run – and two RBIs, and
Cole Modgling went 3-for-4 with an RBI.
Sebastian Trinidad went 1-for-3 with two RBIs, increasing his on-base streak to 11 games, and
Christian Smith-Johnson ran his hit streak to six games with a 1-for-3 day and two runs scored.
TAMU-CC actually scored first, as Webb led off the game with a single and eventually made it to third before coming in on a Trinidad sacrifice fly. Trailing 5-1 in the fifth, Webb got things started again with another single and again making it around to third before scoring on another Trinidad sac fly. A pair of hit-by-pitches sandwiched around a walk loaded the bases for Modgling, who singled to score one.
Mason Persons then pinch-hit, and he picked up an RBI the easy way with a bases-loaded walk.
The Islanders sent nine men to the plate in the inning and scored three times to pull to within 5-4. But the Panthers answered back and then some, sending 11 men to the plate in the bottom of the fifth. PVAM scored five times on five hits, two walks, a hit-by-pitch and four stolen bases.
TAMU-CC tried to fight back, scoring twice in the sixth on a
Logan Vaughan singled and Hom's blast to deep left field. Then in the eighth, Webb again led off with a single, and again eventually made his way over to third. He scored on a wild pitch, which preceded the final run of the game courtesy of an RBI single by Hom.
The Islanders threatened one last time in the ninth as Persons and Webb both singled, but with one out, a pair of fly outs ended it. It was only PVAM's third win all-time against TAMU-CC, and it was just the first time the Panthers had scored in double figures.
The Islanders won't have to think long about the loss, as they return to SLC play Friday on the road against New Orleans.
On Deck: The Islanders next will play a three-game SLC series at New Orleans. The teams will play at 6:30 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
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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