CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx – A four-run first inning proved too much to overcome Saturday as the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball team never could close the gap in a 9-4 loss to McNeese at Chapman Field.
The Cowboys (23-22 overall, 7-10 in the Southland Conference) jumped out 4-0 on four hits, two walks, an error, a wild pitch and a passed ball. Fortunately, Islanders starter
Jack Hill picked off a runner at second during the frame, limiting the damage.
McNeese picked up another run in the third on a walk, a wild pitch and a single, then ended Hill's day in the fourth with another run on two more hits to make it 6-0.
Austin Dean came in and got the Islanders through the fifth, allowing just a run on three hits.
TAMU-CC (21-29, 9-11) got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning when
Christian Smith-Johnson led off by reaching on an error, extending his on-base streak to 11 games. He advanced to second on another error off the bat of
Josh Blount, and they both moved up a base on a wild pitch. A sacrifice fly from
Cole Modgling drove in the Islanders' first run, then
Issac Webb hit a hot shot to third for a single that drove in another run to make it 6-2.
David Stuart, who hadn't pitched since March 28 against Nicholls, relieved Dean in the top of the sixth and was solid, allowing just two runs (one earned) on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts. He found a little trouble in the ninth, when McNeese scored twice on three singles and an error.
Stuart tossed a career-high 72 pitches and was pulled when his 72nd pitch hit a batter. That brought in lefty
Michael Schwarz, who hadn't pitched since March 20 against Northwestern and was making just his fourth appearance of the season. But he needed just two pitches to induce a fly ball and get the Islanders out of the jam.
With just three hits through the first eight innings, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that a loss was inevitable once the first two batters of the ninth were retired for the Islanders. But showing some fight that could serve them well as SLC tournament time approaches, the Islanders didn't fade quietly.
Webb singled to right on a full count, then came around to score when
Sebastian Trinidad kept his hitting streak alive with an RBI single to left. Trinidad, who was 0-for-4 until that point, now has hit safely in eight straight games and reached base safely in 16 straight.
Garrett Gruell then singled Trinidad over to third, and he scampered home on
Chance Reisdorph's liner to right on an 0-2 pitch. Gruell and Reisdorph both moved up a base on a wild pitch, and both nearly came around to score when Smith-Johnson scorched a line drive that was targeted for the left-field corner but was snagged by the McNeese third baseman to end the game.
Webb finished 2-for-5 with an RBI and run scored, and Gruell was 2-for-4 with a walk. Blount had the other hit for the Islanders with a single in the eighth.
A day after both teams combined for six home runs – all solo shots – there were no home runs Saturday, though McNeese did hit six doubles as part of its 16-hit attack.
TAMU-CC is now in sixth place in the conference, 1.5 games ahead of McNeese. The two will play the finale of their series at 1 p.m. tomorrow at Chapman Field.
TAMUCC (21-29, 9-11 SLC)
Friday, May 3 – vs. McNeese, L (7-3)
Saturday, May 4 – vs. McNeese, L (9-4)
Sunday, May 5 – vs. McNeese (23-22, 7-10), 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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