Stephen F. Austin
A&M-Corpus Christi
SFA Claims Series, Outlasting Islanders 11-10
3/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Stephen F. Austin 11, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 10
Chapman Field * Corpus Christi, Texas
Records: SFA (9-19, 4-7 SLC); A&M-CC (11-12, 3-6 SLC)
Up Next: at Arkansas-Little Rock * Tuesday, Mar. 31 * 6:30 p.m.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- After giving up eight first inning runs, Stephen F. Austin showed its fight, rallying from a seven-run deficit to outlast Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 11-10 at Chapman Field Sunday afternoon. The win gives the Lumberjacks their first Southland Conference series win of the 2015 season, improving to 9-19 overall and 4-7 in conference play.
After coming up one run short in its rally bid Saturday afternoon, SFA looked to strike early against A&M-Corpus Christi in the rubber match of its three-game series. Leadoff batter Matthew Dickey ripped a double down the left field line, then scored two batters later when Kyle Thornell singled to right field, giving the 'Jacks the early 1-0 lead.
However hopes of a series victory quickly derailed in the bottom of the first as the Lumberjacks allowed eight Islander runs on seven hits with an error as starter Jarred Greene left the game without recording an out. A&M-CC used back-to-back triples to open up the inning and had brought six runs across the plate before SFA was able to record an out, building a commanding 8-1 lead after one inning of play.
But with eight innings remaining, SFA began to chip away at the deficit, beginning with a four-run second inning. Conner Fikes belted his first homerun of the year, a solo shot to right field. Hunter Wilson then brought two runners home after an Islander fielding error with Nick Ramos adding an RBI off a ground out as the Lumberjacks pulled to within three at 8-5.
A&M-CC added another run in the bottom of the second, extending its lead to four at 9-5. But SFA kept chipping away behind a Tyler Boxwell RBI single and a Dickey RBI ground out, pulling to within two at 9-7 after the top of the third.
The Islanders early seven-run cushion was then completely eliminated in the top of the fourth as singles by Dan O'Neill and Fikes evened up the score at 9-9. It would remain that way until the top of the eighth when SFA completed the rally by reclaiming the lead thanks to a two-RBI double by Garrett McMullen, bringing home Thornell and Ramos to give the 'Jacks the 11-9 advantage.
But as was the story of the series, A&M-Corpus Christi made it interesting in the bottom of the ninth. Three-straight hits to open the inning cut the SFA lead to 11-10, giving the Islanders two on with no outs. A 3-5-4 double play turned into a key play in the game, notching the first two outs of the ninth for the Islanders. A wild pitch advanced the tying run to third base, but a fly out to left ended the rally attempt, securing the victory for SFA.
Thornell continued his hot play in the Coastal Bend, finishing 3-for-3 on the game to close out the series at 9-for-11, an impressive .818 batting average with three RBIs and six runs scored. Fikes also notched three hits on the day, going 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and a pair of runs scored. Dickey and O'Neill both went 2-for-5 for the 'Jacks with a pair of runs scored and an RBI as well.
After allowing nine runs on nine hits over the first two innings, the SFA pitching corps proved to be dominant over the final seven innings with four combined pitchers allowing just one run on four hits. Patrick Ledet was credited with the win for the Lumberjacks, improving to 2-0 on the year, while Tyler Wiedenfeld notched the save, his sixth of the season.
The series win over the Islanders marks the Lumberjacks' first SLC series victory since taking two out of three from Houston Baptist in the final conference series of 2014. SFA also improved to 19-15 all-time against A&M-Corpus Christi, including a 13-7 mark at Chapman Field.
SFA now heads to Little Rock, Arkansas, for a Tuesday game against Arkansas-Little Rock at 6:30 p.m. That game then leads into a six-game Southland Conference home stand, beginning with a three-game set against rival Sam Houston State April 2-4 at Jaycees Field.
-SFA-
