CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx – In a game in which the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball team fought back, then fought back, then fought back some more, a four-run 10th inning by McNeese proved to be too much for the Islanders to fight back from in a 13-10 loss Sunday at Chapman Field.
In the finale of the three-game series, the Islanders (21-30 overall, 9-12 in the Southland Conference) tried mightily to avoid the sweep, coming back from an 8-2 deficit to tie it in the ninth before the Cowboys (24-22, 8-10) exploded in the 10th. It was the second big inning of the day for the Cowboys, as they put up five in the seventh inning to take their six-run lead.
The Islanders had a chance to end it in the ninth, as they had two on and one out after tying it 9-9. But a groundout only moved the runners to second and third, and another groundout ended the inning and sent it to extras.
"Considering how bad we had played this weekend and how well McNeese played, we were right on the brink," TAMU-CC coach
Scott Malone said. "We needed one more good swing, one more double turn. We were right on the brink of getting out of there with a win, which we needed really bad, and we just couldn't finish."
As was the case throughout the majority of the series, the Islanders had to play from behind Sunday. The Cowboys took a 1-0 lead in the third, then extended it to 3-0 in the top of the fifth. The Islanders began to show some of that fight in the bottom of the fifth, as
Issac Webb drove in Loghan Vaughan with their first run of the game, followed quickly by an RBI single from
Cole Modgling to drive in Webb with the second run.
Trailing just 3-2, the Islanders found trouble in the seventh as the first six batters for McNeese all reached base on five hits and error, leading to five runs and an 8-2 lead.
Yet again, the Islanders fought back.
With one out in the bottom of the seventh,
Mason Persons and Webb both walked, which led McNeese to go the bullpen and bring in former Islander JT Moeller. The Islanders greeted their former teammate with a single by Modgling to load the bases, a single by
Garrett Gruell to score Persons, and a double by
Sebastian Trinidad to that scored two.
McNeese went back to the pen, and after a sac fly from
Chance Reisdorph drove in another run, the Islanders had a four-run inning and an 8-6 deficit. The madness was just beginning, however.
McNeese added a run in the eighth inning to make it 9-6, but, you guessed it, the Islanders fought back in the bottom of the eighth.
Christian Smith-Johnson got the rally started with a leadoff home run to left-center field, his sixth of the year. Person then reached on an error and advanced to third with two outs, and he scampered home on Modgling's fourth hit of the game and his second RBI.
After
Cam Soliz pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the ninth, Trinidad got things started with a leadoff walk. He was lifted for pinch-runner
Bryce Logan, who went to second on Reisdorph's sacrifice bunt. That brought up
Stephen Hom, who has had a knack for big hits this season when they're needed the most.
It was needed big time Sunday, and Hom came through. On a 1-0 pitch, Hom laced a double to right-center field, driving in Logan and tying the game. Yet that was all the fight the Islanders could muster, as McNeese got four runs on four hits in the 10th, including a three-run homer.
Gruell did provide one last gasp with his 10th home run of the year with two outs in the 10th inning, but that was all the Islanders could muster.
TAMU-CC collected 12 hits and nine walks but stranded nine. The 2-3-4 hitters for TAMU-CC – Modgling, Gruell and Trinidad – combined to go 8-for-16 with six RBIs and three runs scored. Modgling had a career high with his four hits, while Trinidad was 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to nine games and his on-base streak to 17 games.
Smith-Johnson, in addition to his home run, reached base four times with three walks, including one intentionally in the ninth inning. All but two TAMU-CC starters had a hit, and every starter but one managed to reach base.
The Islanders will get a much-needed week off before embarking on the final stretch of the season. TAMU-CC will face UTRGV in the home finale on May 14, then head to Hammond, La., to play Southeastern in the final series of the regular season on May 16-18. The SLC tournament will be played from May 22-25 in Hammond as well.
"We will use the bye week to get healthy," Malone said. "We have been short an arm for a couple of weeks. Hopefully over the course of the next 10 days we can get healthy, get some guys back, get ready to finish the regular season at Southeastern and try to fight for a spot in the Southland Conference postseason tournament."
TAMUCC (21-30, 9-12 SLC)
Friday, May 3 – vs. McNeese, L (7-3)
Saturday, May 4 – vs. McNeese, L (9-4)
Sunday, May 5 – vs. McNeese, L (13-10, 10 inn.)
On Deck: 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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