CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – On a night when balls were flying all over – and out – of Chapman Field, it was pair of balls in the dirt that turned the tide.
On a cloudy, blustery night at Chapman Field, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and McNeese baseball teams combined for six solo home runs, 20 hits total and 15 combined strikeouts, but it was a pair of wild pitches that proved to be the difference in a 7-3 win for McNeese.
Tied 3-3 in the top of the eighth inning, McNeese's leadoff hitter struck out swinging but advanced to first on a wild pitch. He eventually made it third, where he would score the eventual winning run on another wild pitch. That was immediately followed by the third solo home run of the night for the Cowboys, who tacked on two more in the ninth for the 7-3 win.
"It was a good Friday night game," TAMU-CC coach
Scott Malone said. "Both teams pitched well – those guys just outhit us. They had traffic on the bases all night and we did not."
All three of the Islanders' runs came virtue of the long ball, as
Garrett Gruell homered to left in the first inning (his team-leading ninth of the year),
Cole Modgling hit his first home run with a blast to right in the second inning, and
Josh Blount hit his first with a laser to right-center in the sixth.
The three bombs were part of a seven-hit night for the Islanders (21-28 overall, 9-10 in the Southland Conference), as Modgling upped his average to .322 with a 2-for-4 night,
Sebastian Trinidad ran his hit streak to seven and his on-base streak to 15 with a single in the third,
Christian Smith-Johnson singled and was hit by a pitch to reach base in 10 straight games, while
Chance Reisdorph went 1-for-3 with a walk.
"They played really good defense," Malone said of the Cowboys (22-22, 6-10). "Their coaches put some unique shifts on that really helped them find some outs."
McNeese had 13 hits, as five of the first six batters all had at least two hits.
TAMU-CC's
Riely Hunsaker, who was settling quite nicely into a new role in the bullpen, was called upon to start once again, and he responded quite nicely, getting a no-decision after allowing just two runs on eight hits and no walks with six strikeouts in five innings.
"It was a good Game 1 that went their way," Malone said. "We need to get back after them tomorrow."
TAMUCC (21-28, 9-10 SLC)
Friday, May 3 – vs. McNeese, L (7-3)
Saturday, May 4 – vs. McNeese (22-22, 6-10), 2 p.m. Saturday, Chapman Field, Corpus Christi
Sunday, May 5 – vs. McNeese (22-22, 6-10), 1 p.m. Sunday, Chapman Field, Corpus Christi
On Deck: After the McNeese series, the Islanders will get the SLC bye week before playing the final home game of the year against UTRGV at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14. TAMU-CC then will travel to Hammond, La., on May 16-18 to take on Southeastern in the final regular-season series of the year.
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