'Jacks Outlasted by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in 6-4 12-Inning Setback

Friday, April 20

Nacogdoches, Texas

6:30 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

13-24, 0

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi

19-20, 0

Texas A&M-CC

Stephen F. Austin

Photo by: Hardy Meredith | SFA Photography

'Jacks Outlasted by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in 6-4 12-Inning Setback

4/20/2018 11:56:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Islanders plate two in top of the 12th to take game one

By: Charlie Hurley | Director of Athletic Media Relations

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Prior to the events of Friday night, each of the Stephen F. Austin baseball team's two previous Southland Conference extra-inning games in 2018 went in the books as wins for the 'Jacks.

Against visiting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, however, that trend did not continue.

Enrique Sanchez's one-out, two-run single off of SFA reliever Cole Ridgely in the top of the twelfth proved to be the different in the 'Jacks' 6-4 12-inning setback to the Islanders at Jaycees Field late Friday night. The opener of the three-game Southland Conference series between the squads saw the teams leave a combined 29 runners on the base paths in a game that the 'Jacks seemed poised to win.

Kyle Cullen drew a game-tying bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth for the home-standing 'Jacks with no outs. With matters knotted at 4-4, the 'Jacks' two, three and four-hole hitters struck out, popped out and flew out respectively to send things to extra innings.

Cullen's base-on-balls with the bases juiced represented the second bases-loaded walk of the game. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi broke a 3-3 deadlock in the top of the seventh when Andruid Martinez won a six-pitch at-bat with Lumberjack right-hander Jesus Gamez to draw a bases-loaded walk that scored Sanchez and put the visitors ahead 4-3.

In a win which halted a four-game skid, the Islanders got three of their six runs by baserunners who reached on either a walk or a hit by pitch. In all, SFA's pitching staff issued 10 walks and plunked two in the 'Jacks' second-straight home setback.

Freshman starting pitcher Dru Dziedzic retired the Islanders' first two batters of the game easily enough but had trouble getting the final out of the first. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi put runners on first and second with a single and a walk before Itchy Burts put the visitors ahead with an RBI single.

Dziedzic issued the second of his four walks to load the bases but got Andruid Martinez to fly out to center and end the Islanders' first threat of the game. It took until the third inning before the 'Jacks could answer with some offense of their own. That offense came off the bat of Josh Evans who punched a two-out, two-run single through the right side of the Islanders' infield to give SFA the lead.

Another timely two-out hit - this one off the stick of nine-hole hitter Nic Minor - pushed the 'Jacks' lead to two in the fourth. Eric DeJesus led off the inning with a single and moved to third on a pair of wild pitches before Minor pushed an RBI single up the middle to make matters 3-1.

SFA's two-run lead didn't last long, however, as Sanchez started his four-RBI night by blasting a game-tying two-run homer to right-center off of Dziedzic with one out in the top of the fifth. That score stood until the Islanders' go-ahead run in the seventh crossed home with two outs.

Though he ultimately did not factor into the decision, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi starting pitcher Aaron Hernandez racked up 10 of the Islanders pitching staff's 15 strikeouts through his 5.1 frames of work. Offensively, Sanchez did most of the work for the Islanders as he went 3-for-5 with four RBI and two runs scored.

Jared Martin was one of three 'Jacks who went 2-for-5 at the plate in SFA's loss. The freshman popped a pair of doubles while Eric DeJesus and Minor each finished with a pair of hits, too. Of the seven different relief arms SFA made use of following Dziedzic's exit in the sixth, Jake Norton produced the longest outing. The junior struck out three in 2.1 frames of work.

Saturday at noon the 'Jacks and Islanders will play game two of their three-game series at Jaycees Field. Originally the game was supposed to begin at 2:00 p.m. but with heavy rain forecasted to fall in Nacogdoches beginning at 2:00 p.m., the teams agreed to move the start time to noon.

-SFA-