CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi will enter conference-play on a two-game win streak, after dropping visiting Columbia 6-3 at Chapman Field. The Islander pitching staff held the Lions to just five hits over the course of the Tuesday night contest, improving their home record to 8-1 for 2018.
Despite campus being cleared for spring break, the Chap was packed for the Blue and Green's contest against Columbia, as the visiting Ivy Leaguers opened the evening's scoring in the first inning of play. Getting his second start of the season, freshman right hander Leonel Perez held the Lions to just a pair of hits in his five innings of work, surrendering just a single unearned run.
The Lions were puzzled by the the Palmview-native after the opening frame, as the righty struck out a career-high seven batters on the afternoon while facing just four over the minimum during his time on the mound. The Islander offense used Perez' strong start on the hill to score four unanswered runs over the proceeding three innings, with starting backstop Trevor Beard collecting a pair of RBI in the process.
In his first start since transferring to the Island, Beard drove in Andriud Martinez on a second inning groundout before sending Dalton Stark home on a double in the fourth. The catcher's two knocks were sandwiched around a Harrison DiNicola homer in the third, as the Blue and Green jumped ahead to a 4-1 lead on a Steven Rivera-Chijin RBI-single later in the contest. Dinicola's solo shot was his fifth homer of the season, sending a no-doubter over the right field wall to collect his team-best 17th RBI of the 2018 campaign.
After allowing Columbia a pair of runs in the sixth, Rivera-Chijin would pick up his second knock of the night to score Stark in the following frame, before a wild pitch drove in pinch hitter Itchy Burts from third. Gathering his third save of the season, senior Chris Cooper took to the hill for the final six outs of the contest, striking out the side in the eighth and securing a 6-3 win for the hosting Islanders.
- Stark went a personal season-best 3-for-4 at the plate while recording the fourth triple of his two-year career on the Island
- Newcomers Beard and Rivera-Chijin both finished with a pair of runs driven in, their first RBI in an Islander uniform
- Scoring a single run on the night, Martinez' hitting streak of 13 games finally came to an end on Tuesday; the first time the second baseman has gone without a knock since February 17th
- Freshman lefty A.G. Ayala tossed a perfect 1.1 innings of relief, making his fifth consecutive scoreless appearance. He is yet to have an earned run attached to his statline this season
- Combining for 13 strikeouts the Corpus Christi pitching staff were just three short of the season-high they set against UC Santa Barbara earlier this year
COMING UP NEXT
The Islanders open up the Southland season against rivals Sam Houston State at home in Chapman this Friday through Sunday. The Blue and Green is 22-29 against the Bearkats all-time, as SHSU is coming off a super regional appearance in last year's NCAA Baseball Championship tournament.