Jacks Cruise to 8-3 Win in Series Opener at A&M-CC

Thursday, April 2

Corpus Christi, TX

6:00 P.M.

Stephen F. Austin

17-14, 8-5

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi

13-15, 3-9

Stephen F. Austin

Texas AM-Corpus Christi

Photo by: Jaiden Miller | Texas A&M-CC

Jacks Cruise to 8-3 Win in Series Opener at A&M-CC

4/2/2026 10:28:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Early blasts, Templeton’s strong five innings set tone as Jacks win eighth game in SLC play

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Stephen F. Austin downed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 8-3 in Thursday night's Southland Conference series opener from Chapman Field. The Jacks win for a third-straight game and for the fourth time in its last five outings to move to 17-14 overall and 8-5 in SLC play.

A pair of big flies got the offensive action started for the Jacks as Josh Ibe left the yard to deep centerfield for a two-run blast and the game's first runs in the second. Three innings later, Jhett Creel exited stage right, of the three-run variety, to cushion Cody Templeton's efforts on the hill.

An inning after Creel's homer, Cermodrick Bland doubled in Ibe, the fourth extra-base hit of the game for SFA, for an insurance tally as the Islanders took two runs back in the bottom half of the frame.

The Jacks grabbed both of those runs right back with two outs in the ensuing trip to the plate as a wild pitch scored Mark Henning who led off the frame with a double. Ethan Peña then scored after Coby DeJesus singled on the infield to extend the inning.

Templeton's day ended after five strong innings of five-hit baseball which was accompanied by a season-high eight strikeouts. He also scattered three walks as all eight A&M-CC base runners were stranded.

Jack James faced one over the minimum as he tossed the final two innings with two strikeouts. He took over for Reid Bowyer who limited the host to a single run in two innings of work with two Ks.

POSTGAME NOTES

It marked the Jacks' fifth game this spring with 14 or more hits
Bland and Peña led SFA with three hits each
It is Peña's team-leading 14^th multi-hit game and his second with three or more, while Bland recorded multiple knocks for the eighth time with his third three-hit effort
Creel registered his ninth multi-hit game, while Ibe logged his third
Creel became the second Jack this season with multiple games of three or more RBI
Swift's team-leading hit streak moved to six games
Henning's reached safely streak moved to 11 games
Templeton crossed over 40 strikeouts and 40 innings pitched on the season
James lowered his ERA to 1.08 and his WHIP to .84 as he reached 25.0 innings pitched this spring
James became the fourth SFA arm to reach two dozen strikeouts in '26

UP NEXT
Game two of the series is set for 6 p.m. on Friday night from Chapman Field. Live coverage links will be available at www.SFAjacks.com.

SECURE YOUR SEATS TODAY
Single game tickets for all SFA baseball home games are available now. Fans interested in purchasing season ticket packages can secure their seats here. Don't miss out on all the exciting action from Pilgrim's Park this season!

THE 'JACKS HAVE GONE MOBILE
SFA Athletics' newest mobile phone application is designed to bring Lumberjack fans closer to the action than ever before. Available now on both the App Store and Google Play, the new SFA Athletics app delivers schedules, scores, rosters, news, ticket access, and exclusive content right to your phone. Fans can also receive push notifications, so they never miss a moment of the action. Download now: Official SFA Athletics App.

FOLLOW THE JACKS
For all the latest information on SFA baseball, visit SFAjacks.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Jacks on X, Instagram and Facebook.

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