THIBODAUX, La. – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball team took home its second consecutive loss in its weekend series against Nicholls on Saturday evening, falling behind big early and getting taken down in seven innings by a run-rule final score of 15-3.
With the loss, the Islanders (6-9, 0-2 SLC) were handed their second series defeat of the season so far, with the first coming in the form of a four-game sweep at the hands of Kansas to start the year. It was also their second run-rule loss of the season and first since they fell by a final of 16-0 in the series finale against the Jayhawks on February 17.
After leading for much of the game before suffering a heartbreaking walk-off loss in the series opener on Friday, the Islanders found themselves in a hole quickly on Saturday, allowing Nicholls (7-9, 2-3 SLC) to jump on the board first in the top of the second on a groundout that followed a leadoff triple off of starter
Luke Singleton. The big blow came soon after this, as just one inning later, the Colonels put together a six-run outburst that further widened A&M-Corpus Christi's deficit. A pair of doubles and an infield single drove in the first four of these and brought Singleton's outing to an early end, and after the bullpen doors opened for the first time, an RBI groundout and a base knock brought in the last two and made it 7-0 in favor of the hosts.
While the Colonels caught fire with their bats, the Islanders saw themselves start off in a cold spell, getting held off of the scoreboard entirely throughout the first five innings of the game. They were not without a few chances, getting a pair of base runners on in both the second and fourth, but they could not get the big hit to capitalize on these each of these opportunities. By the time the team finally scratched its first run across on an RBI single by junior
Karson Krowka in the sixth, its scoreless inning streak had gotten all the way up to 12, the second-longest of the season to date.
On the other side, Nicholls had no such troubles of its own, continuing to push with a three spot in the fifth and another run in the sixth to get into double figures on the day. The Islanders did manage to stave off the run-rule finish in the top of the seventh after scoring two on an RBI groundout by sophomore
Jarrett Flaggert and a bases-loaded walk by Krowka, but it would soon come to pass not long after, as the Colonels got their lead back up over 10 on a three-run bomb in the bottom half of the frame that brought the game to its early conclusion.
The Islanders got just a lone multi-hit performance from their lineup on Saturday, which was done by senior
Cade Sanchez in another great showing from the second baseman. Beyond Sanchez, Krowka managed to reach base three times on a base hit and two walks while driving in two of the team's three runs, and senior
Logan Vaughan got on in two of his four plate appearances with a single and a walk.
A&M-Corpus Christi will now try to avoid the sweep in the series finale on Sunday, with first pitch from Ray E. Didier Field currently scheduled to take place at 1 p.m.
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