CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi rallied in the fifth inning Friday, scoring a pair of runs to come back and defeat Southeastern Louisiana, 3-2, in Southland Conference action at Chapman Field.
Southeastern (19-11, 7-6 Southland) led twice, scoring in the first inning and regaining a short-lived lead over the Islanders (12-19, 4-6 Southland) in the fifth.
Jacob Seward singled with one out in the first, advancing to second base on a passed ball.
Taylor Schwaner drove in Seward with a two-out double to left-center field, picking up his Southland-leading 40th RBI of the season.
A&M-Corpus Christi tied the game in the second.
Second baseman Brett Burner knocked a one-out single up the middle and then advanced to second on a groundout. Burner scored from second on Itchy Burts' two-out single up the middle.
The Lions regained the lead in the fifth, 2-1.
Brennan Breaud, a sophomore from Norco, Louisiana, led off the inning with an infield single to second.
Daniel Wasinger laid down a sacrifice bunt, reaching safely when the pitcher's throw pulled the first baseman off the bag.
Breaud advanced to third on a fielder's choice and then later scored on a sacrifice bunt by
Jacob Seward.
The Islanders wasted little time in responding.
With one out in the fifth, A&M-Corpus Christi strung together three straight hits. Third baseman Jackson Owens started the string off with a double to center. He scored on a single by Burts. Designated hitter Brian Deaver followed with another single.
After catching ninth-place hitter Lukas Hermanson looking at a third strike, Lion starting pitcher
Mac Sceroler (5-1) walked back-to-back hitters, his only two walks of the game, to force in the eventual winning run.
Islander starting pitcher Dustin Lacaze (2-0) earned the win. The right-hander allowed two runs, neither were earned, in six innings pitched. He surrendered five hits and one walk, striking out one.
Chris Cooper earned the save, his second of the season, tossing shutout ball over the final three innings and striking out six batters. He gave up one hit and walked one.
Despite being tagged with the loss, Sceroler tossed a complete game and tied a career high with 11 strikeouts. He surrendered 10 hits.
Breaud led the Lions at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a run scored.
With the loss, Southeastern has dropped five consecutive road games.
Sophomore right-hander
Corey Gaconi (2-2, 3.04) gets the starting nod at 4 p.m. Saturday versus Islander junior righty Cole Carter (2-4, 7.17) in game two of the series.
The game can be heard in the Hammond, Louisiana, area on KSLU 90.9 FM, and worldwide online or through the TuneIn Radio app (search for KSLU). Fans can also keep up with the contest through live statistics or by following @SLUathletics on Twitter. Streaming video will be available courtesy A&M-Corpus Christi.
Links for audio, video and stats can be found on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
A&M-Corpus Christi 3, Southeastern 2 (Apr 07, 2017 at Corpus Christi, Tx.)
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Southeastern................ 100 010 000 - 2 6 0 (19-11, 7-6 SLC)
A&M-Corpus Christi....... 010 020 00X - 3 10 1 (12-19, 4-6 SLC)
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Pitchers: Southeastern - Sceroler, Mac and Wasinger, Daniel. A&M-Corpus Christi - Lacaze, Dustin; Cooper, Chris (7) and Hermanson, Lukas.
Win-Lacaze, Dustin (2-0) Save-Cooper, Chris (2) Loss-Sceroler, Mac (5-1) T-2:15 A-477
