CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears dropped a pair of games to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Sunday at Chapman Field and lost their second consecutive Southland Conference series.
The Islanders won both ends of the double header, 5-1 and 10-4, to sweep the series from the Bears. UCA, which has now lost eight consecutive conference games, returns home Tuesday night for a non-conference game against Arkansas State and an SLC series against Stephen F. Austin on the weekend.
Two big innings, one in each game, were the difference. The Islanders (13-22, 9-10) put up five runs on just two hits and an error in the fourth inning in Game 1 and held the Bears to just one run in the sixth inning of the seven-inning game. UCA junior right fielder
Connor Emmet supplied most of the Bears' offense, going 3 for 3 with a pair of doubles and a run scored.
Emmet doubled and scored on
Beau Orlando's base hit in the sixth. Junior
Logan Gilbertson went the distance for the Bears, allowing 6 hits, 3 earned runs and striking out 4.
In the nightcap, A&M-CC did the same thing but one better in the fourth inning, plating six runs on six hits to overcome a 3-0 deficit and win going away. The Islanders totaled 15 hits off seven different UCA pitchers. UCA picked up a single run in the first and two more in the third but scored just once more after that.
In the first,
Kolby Johnson was hit by a pitch and eventually came around to score on a throwing error to give UCA an early 1-0 lead. Johnson got it started again in the third with a leadoff single. He stole second and advanced to third on an error, one of four for the Islanders. Orlando's base hit to right brought him in and
Taylor Daniell's double scored Orlando for a 3-0 lead.
But after the six-run fourth, the Islanders added two runs in both the fifth and seventh innings to put the game away. Orlando finished 3 for 5 with 2 runs batted in, while Johnson went 2 for 4 and scored three of UCA's four runs.
A&M-CC has now won seven consecutive games against the Bears, dating back to 2019.
