Late Homer Lifts Top-Seed Abilene Christian Over No. 4 A&M-Corpus Christi
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HAMMOND, La. – Nobody in the ballpark thought it was going to be the winner off the bat, but Miller Ladusau’s opposite-field shot to left carried over the wall to carry top-seeded Abilene Christian to a 4-3 win over No. 4 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday evening at the 2021 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament, presented by GeoSurfaces.
After back-to-back walks to lead off the frame, Tommy Cruz successfully bunted the runners over before Ladusau stepped in and deposited one in the Wildcats’ bullpen to give them a 4-2 lead.
Though Tanner Riley allowed a run that cut the lead in half on a sac fly, he shut the door on the ninth with a pair of strikeouts and picked up his ninth save of the season.
Austin Glaze (4-1) earned the win with 2.2 innings of one-run relief and a trio of strikeouts. Leo Perez (2-4) was credited with the loss as the pitcher responsible for the game-winning home run.
Both lineups were largely stymied by the game’s starting pitchers with each team plating a run – a solo home run for Abilene Christian’s Grayson Tatrow and a sac fly from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s Justin Taylor.
The Wildcats’ Adam Stephenson allowed just one run on five hits with six strikeouts over 5.1 innings, and the Islanders’ Hayden Thomas dazzled over seven frames with 11 strikeouts and two runs on four hits.
After Taylor’s sac fly brought the score level in the sixth, Luke Marbach smashed a ball over the wall in left to give A&M-Corpus Christi a short-lived lead.
The Islanders have a rematch with No. 5 Sam Houston at 9 a.m. CT Friday with the loser going home and the winner to face the Wildcats at 4 p.m.