(5-4-08)

ERRORS COST ISLANDERS IN SERIES FINALE WITH UTSA

ROBSTOWN – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball team entered it series finale with UTSA looking for a series sweep of the Southland Conference league leaders. However, the Roadrunners scored four runs in the sixth and five in the seventh to pull away for an 11-2 win on Sunday at Fairgrounds Field.

After going 2-1 in the series with the SLC leaders, A&M-Corpus Christi finds itself 13-11 in the Southland Conference and 21-27 overall. UTSA improved to 34-14 overall and is 18-6 in the league after the win in the finale.

The Islanders out-hit UTSA 11-10 in the game, but were hampered by four errors in the game. Bryan Gerondale led the way with three hits, while Chase Williams, Chase Wheaton, and Ernie Olivarez each had two.

“I thought our hitters continued to stroke the bats well,” said Islander head coach Scott Malone. “We just couldn’t get that big RBI hit. We had couple of balls that we almost hit two hard that costs us. We just couldn’t get that big hit.

“They didn’t give us anything.”

UTSA jumped out to a 2-0 lead after five innings. Tim Palincsar scored on a double Trey Lockwood in thee first, while Zach Etheredge came across to score on an error by Martin Parra. Etheredge was 2-for-5 with three RBIs in the finale.

Meanwhile, the Islanders pounded out eight hits in the first five innings, but were unable to come up with the big hit to plate a run.

In the second, Gerondale, who extended his hitting streak to 11 games, and Olivarez started the inning with back-to-back singles. Gerondale would break for third on a pitch to Brycen Bell. Bell hit a grounder to third with Ryan Rummel able to tag out Gerondale and then throw to first for the double play.

After stranding a pair of runners in the third, A&M-Corpus Christi again threatened in the fourth. Gerondale reached on a bunt single and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Olivarez. With two outs, Parra hit a line-drive single to left. Gerondale raced around third but was thrown out at home by Jose Hernandez.

UTSA made the Islanders pay for the missed opportunities in the sixth scoring four times with no hits. They took advantage of three infield errors and a pair of walks.

Justin Grota, who had limited the visitors to two runs on three hits in the first five innings, walked Palincsar to start the inning. Michael Rockett then reached on an error by Parra, who had two in the inning, to chase Grota from the game. Grota was solid in his conference start. He allowed four runs with just one earned on three hits in five innings of work. He struck out two batters and walked one. Grota suffered the loss to fall to 1-1

“I was please with the way Justin pitched,” said Malone. “He gave us every opportunity to win the game early.”

After Jake Olier struck out Lockwood, Hernandez loaded the bases with a walk. Pair of runs scored on an error by Parra as the ball rolled up his arm and into the outfield on a grounder off Trey Hernandez. The final two runs scored on an error at second by Olivarez.

A&M-Corpus Christi pulled back to within four, 6-2, in the bottom of the sixth with a pair of runs. Wheaton led off the inning with a walk and scored on a single by Gerondale. Gerondale came home for the second run on a ground ball by Bell.

In the seventh, UTSA added its final five runs on seven hits. Palincsar scored on a single by Rockett. It was his third run scored of the game. Lockwood crossed the plate on a double by Tyler Carpenter, who had two RBI. After a two-run double by Etheredge, Hutson capped the inning with an RBI single.

Any chance of a comeback in the seventh was squashed by the defense of Rockett. The centerfielder robbed the Islanders of a pair of extra-base hits with diving catches.

“Rockett showed why he is probably the best defensive outfielder in the state of Texas,” said Malone. “He made plays all day that took away hits from us.”

Malone used eight pitchers in the game including Bryant Sparkman. Sparkman tied the single-season record for appearances at UTSA. Brett Gibson pitched the final 1-2/3 innings for the Islanders. Gibson did not allow a hit.

Kris Ruepke earned the win for UTSA. He allowed two runs on 11 hits and fanned three to improve to 5-2.

The Islanders are off until facing Central Arkansas at Chapman Field this weekend. Friday and Saturday’s games are slated for a 2 p.m. start. Sunday’s game is senior day and has been changed to a noon start to accommodate the Bears’ travel plans.

Aaron Ames
Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations
Texas A&M Corpus Christi