CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - In a seesaw non-conference battle by the water, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi outlasted the University of the Incarnate Word baseball team, 10-8. The Cardiac Cards mounted a two-out, two-run rally in the ninth, but fell just short with the tying runs on second and third.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Cardinals (13-9, 4-2 SLC) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Bergeron, but left the bases loaded in both the first and the third frames.

Garrett Cooper, making his first start since 2015 after coming back from surgery, cruised through the first two innings, but ran into trouble in the third. The Islanders (7-14, 0-3 SLC) took a 3-1 advantage on a two-RBI triple by Luke Marbach and an RBI single by Cullen Jozwiak.

In the fourth inning, Ryan Gonzalez launched a bomb into the howling 25 mph jet stream for his first home run of the year to pull UIW within 3-2.

After a solo run by the A&M-Coprus Christi in the bottom half of the frame, Mark Whitehead notched things up at four runs apiece with an RBI single in the sixth.

The Islanders forged ahead, 6-4, in the bottom of the sixth, but the Cardinals equalized again at 6-6 in the seventh after an RBI single by Bergeron and a sacrifice fly from Kyler Genenbacher. 
 
The game was decided in the bottom of the seventh. After the seventh run scored on a single by Dawson Yates, a high chopper by Itchy Burts rolled all the way to the right field corner for a two-run double. An error on the play allowed Burts to score, giving A&M-Corpus Christi a 10-6 lead.

LEADERS

Lee Thomas and Whitehead each had two hits and an RBI. Bergeron turned in two RBIs with a single and a sacrifice fly, while David Anaya drew three walks and scored a run. Genenbacher finished with two walks, two runs and a sac fly. In addition to his home run, Gonzalez scored a run and had an RBI single in the ninth. Tanner White also contributed an RBI single during UIW's ninth inning rally. Eddy Gonzalez chipped in a single and scored two runs in the loss.

Ramon Salazar was the only Cardinal hurler not to allow a run or a walk, finishing the scoreless bottom of the eighth by stranding two inherited runners with a fly out and a strikeout.

UP NEXT

UIW travels to Beaumont for a three-game conference series against Lamar this weekend.

STAY TUNED

The Cardinals face a road test at Houston on Tuesday, March 28.

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