Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Scores Eight Runs in Ninth for 11-5 Win over SFA
SAN MARCOS, Texas - No. 3 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi scored eight runs in the top of the ninth inning to walk away with an 11-5 victory over No. 2 seed Stephen F. Austin in the Southland Conference Baseball Tournament Friday at Bobcat Ballpark.
The Lumberjacks led 4-3 after five innings and added what they thought was an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. The Islanders, which staved off elimination Friday morning with a walk-off home run against UTSA, seemed unfazed by the task at hand.
With a two-run lead, SFA made the call to closer Jason West, who gave up a lead-off home run to pinch hitter Caleb Marx. Still, SFA clung to a one-run lead. West walked Jeramie Marek before giving up a game-tying double to Matt Holland. That only seemed to awaken the bats, which had 10 hits in the first eight innings of the game.
After another walk, West was taken out of the game for Brad Oates, who got a ground out for the first out of the inning. He then intentionally walked Weston Montgomery to load the bases. Jacob Perales scored on a fielder's choice grounder by Logan Nottebrok to put the Islanders on top. That is when the game began to unravel for Stephen F. Austin.
With runners at the corners, Oates gave up a three-run homer to left by catcher Jumpy Garcia. Marx followed with a double and then scored on a single by Marek for the final run of the game.
West was tagged with the loss to drop to 4-3 after allowed four runs on two hits and a pair of walk to the four batters he faced. Oates also gave up four runs on three hits and two walks before Landon Kozeny was able to get the final out of the game.
Phillip Garcia got the win for the Islanders despite throwing only two-thirds of an inning. He is now 3-1 on the year.
The Islanders pounded out 15 hits, including doubles by Marek, Holland, Trey Hernandez, Marx and Garcia, the final two also homered. Marek was 4-for-5 in the game and drove in two, while Garcia was 3-for-5 with three RBI.
Stephen F. Austin managed 10 hits, all singles. Bryson Myles, Darren Crabtree and Jarid Scarafiotti all had two hits.
The teams will now meet Saturday either at 9 a.m. or 1 p.m. pending the outcome of Friday's final game between Nicholls and Texas State. Stephen F. Austin entered Friday's game in the driver's seat for the school's first appearance in the tournament title game. Now, the schools are on equal footing, playing one game to get to Saturday's 6 p.m. championship that will be televised by the Southland Conference Television Network.
A trip to the title game would also be a first for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Game 11 Quotes
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Coach Scott Malone
"There wasn't any conversation about us losing. I was more concerned that nobody had seen us hit yet. To have that much confidence and start hitting, I'm really proud of these guys."
On the comeback win
"You've seen wins like this before in a tournament but not by A&M-Corpus. This group of seniors is taking this program to all new heights."
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi First Baseman Matt Holland
On the ninth inning comeback
"I was going out there saying that this wasn't going to be my last at bat. We wanted to win. We've been a resilient team lately and we just went out there and gave it our all."
On playing again tomorrow
"Right now we're just going one inning at a time. Fortunately, we pulled out two tough ones today in the ninth inning so hopefully we can do that tomorrow."
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Catcher Jumpy Garcia
On improving his hitting
"The coaches kept on saying you're going to get it at conference time and thank God I did."
On getting the comeback started
"Marx and his leadoff home run got everybody crazy. Holland just came out there and put the icing on the cake just like he always does."
Stephen F. Austin Coach Johnny Cardenas
On when he realized things were unraveling in the ninth
"The home run rattled our closer a little bit. That's the first time he (Jason West) has come in and been roughed up like that. He didn't have a lot of experience in that type of situation. I walked out to talk to him on the mound, and he didn't have the look in his eye that he normally had, so at that point I thought we might be in some trouble. I didn't think we were going to be in eight runs of trouble, but when you don't make plays behind a guy who comes in and makes pitches, it puts you in a bind and you have to score too many runs to come back.
On how it feels so good one minute, then the next minute it seems the problems won't stop:
"That's baseball. It's a crazy sport in that any inning could win or lose the ballgame, and it just so happens that they put some good innings together. You can't take anything away from them. They put some good hits together. They had some good at-bats. The pinch-hit home run was huge for them, and then Jumpy came in and basically put the game away."
On preparing for tomorrow's game
"Well, you've got to say you're still in the same position as you were yesterday. You still have to win one to get in the championship game. Nothing has really changed. They do have a little momentum because of the way this game ended, but you have to try to change that by coming out strong tomorrow."