FRISCO, Texas - A trio of Texas A&M - Corpus Christi seniors made more program history on Monday, with Eric Weiss, Jonathan Gonzales and Brad Porras each being named First Team All-Southland after the finish of the regular season.

The Southland Conference announced teams and individual awards this afternoon, with a total of eight Islanders players receiving recognition. In addition to the three seniors on the first team, senior Trevor Foss, junior Cody Stephens and sophomore Trevor Belicek earned third team honors for the Islanders. Junior Brandon Tierney and sophomore Jordan Lee each received honorable mention from the league.

The vocal leader of the team, Weiss was one of the top outfielders in the league as well as one of the top hitters in Southland contests. The centerfielder hit for a .337 average overall, and had a .350 average against league opponents. He had 42 RBI, second only to Gonzales on the team, and picked up 11 doubles, four triples and four home runs while not committing an error the entire season in the outfield. It is the first All-Southland honor in his Islanders career.

Gonzales was picked as the first team designated hitter after leading the team with 43 RBI and five home runs, while adding 16 doubles on a .321 batting average. In conference he hit .305 with eight doubles, two home runs and 21 RBI. He split time between designated hitter and first base, earning the second highest fielding percentage on the team in a part-time role. It is the second time he has been named All-Southland, earning a third team spot last year as the designated hitter.

Porras was another versatile player for the team, spending some time at third base, but making his mark on the league at first base. His First Team All-Southland recognition comes after he hit .317 on the year with a team high 17 doubles to go along with three home runs and 30 RBI. In conference play, Porras upped his average to .322, picking up 18 of his RBI behind eight doubles and two home runs while scoring 14 runs. It is also the first time Porras has been honored on the All-Southland teams.

Foss led the team contingent on the third team, with the senior going 8-6 with a 3.13 ERA during the year. His 94 strikeouts were good for third in the league while his eight wins were tied for fourth among all pitchers. He earned National Player of the Week honors after striking out 15 batters in a complete-game shutout during his first start of the year, and was named Southland Conference Pitcher of the Week twice during the course of the season.

Belicek put up outstanding numbers during the entire regular season, but was particularly strong against league teams, finishing with the best record (7-0) of any Southland Pitcher in league play. He had a 3.00 ERA during the entire season, but bettered it to a 2.58 ERA in league competition. The sophomore lefty had 55 strikeouts against just 20 walks over the course of the 2013 season.

 

 

Stephens earned the third team spot at second base, finishing fourth in the league with 19 stolen bases, and hitting .316 near the top of the lineup for the Islanders. He added four doubles, two triples and one home run while scoring a team high of 45 runs during the year.

Tierney earned honorable mention after battling through an early injury and switching positions from shortstop to third base without missing a beat. He hit .264 with three doubles and two home runs while driving in 19 runs and scoring 18 during the season.

Jordan Lee earned his second straight honorable mention as an Islander, hitting .314 with seven doubles, one triple, one home run and 23 RBI. He also scored 36 runs while tying for second on the team with nine stolen bases.

The Islanders finished in second place of the Southland Conference and will look to win their first league tournament starting Wednesday, with a 12 p.m. game against Central Arkansas on tap to begin play in the event. The team will travel to Sugar Land for practice day on Tuesday, taking part in a workout at Constellation Field, host site of the 2013 Southland Conference Tournament, and home to the Sugar Land Skeeters, an independent minor league baseball club.

For all the latest on Islanders Baseball, like the team on Facebook (Islanders Baseball), follow them on Twitter (@CorpusBaseball) and visit www.GoIslanders.com.

2013 Southland Conference Baseball Postseason Awards

2013 Southland All-Conference Teams

First Team

Pos. Name University Class Hometown

1B Brad Porras A&M-Corpus Christi Sr. Needville, Texas

2B V.J. Bunner Lamar Sr. Vidor, Texas

3B Kevin Miller2 Sam Houston State Sr. Pearland, Texas

SS Hunter Dozier2 Stephen F. Austin Jr. Denton, Texas

OF Darian Johnson2 Lamar Sr. Chandler, Ariz.

OF Eric Weiss A&M-Corpus Christi Sr. Houston, Texas

OF Forrest Allday2 Central Arkansas Sr. Friendswood, Texas

C Anthony Azar2 Sam Houston State Jr. The Woodlands, Texas

DH Jonathan Gonzales2 A&M-Corpus Christi Sr. Buda, Texas

P Alex Gonzalez Oral Roberts Jr. Delray Beach, Fla.

P Caleb McClanahan Central Arkansas Sr. Wynne, Ark.

P Eric Harrington2 Lamar Sr. Groves, Texas

Second Team

Pos. Name University Class Hometown

1B Brad Picha Lamar Sr. Stevensville, Texas

2B Jessie Plumlee Sam Houston State Sr. Rowlett, Texas

3B Aaron Olivas Lamar Sr. El Paso, Texas

SS Sam Bumpers Lamar Jr. Bourbornnais, Ill.

OF Luke Plucheck Sam Houston State Jr. Tomball, Texas

OF Ricardo Sanchez Stephen F. Austin Jr. Houston, Texas

OF Jackson Gooch McNeese State Jr. Delta, British Columbia

C Michael Marietta Central Arkansas Sr. Oak View, Calif.

DH Seth Dornak Lamar Sr. Pearland, Texas

P Caleb Smith2 Sam Houston State Jr. Huntsville, Texas

P Jonathan Dziedzic Lamar Jr. Humble, Texas

P Brett Higginbotham Stephen F. Austin Sr. Hutto, Texas

Third Team

Pos. Name University Class Hometown

1B Chayse Marion McNeese State Jr. Red Deez, Alberta

2B Cody Stephens A&M-Corpus Christi Jr. Concord, Calif.

3B Jesse Buratt Southeastern La. Jr. Gonzales, La.

SS Ben Hernandez Southeastern La. Sr. Zachary, La.

OF Harry Slade Southeastern La. Sr. Baltimore, Md.

OF Matt Richard Nicholls State Sr. Gonzales, La.

OF Jonathan Davis3 Central Arkansas Jr. Camden, Ark.

C Jose Trevino Oral Roberts So. Corpus Christi, Texas

DH Tyler Boss Oral Roberts Jr. Spring, Texas

P Trevor Foss A&M-Corpus Christi Sr. Janesville, Wis.

P Trevor Belicek A&M-Corpus Christi So. Uvalde, Texas

P Blake Ware McNeese State Sr. White Oak, Texas

Honorable Mention - First Base: Max Lamantia, Stephen F. Austin. Second Base: Blake Marchal, Central Arkansas; Freddy Villalobos, Stephen F. Austin. Third Base: Brandon Tierney, A&M-Corpus Christi. Shortstop: Carter Burgess, Sam Houston State. Outfield: Will Watson, Northwestern State; Jordan Lee, A&M-Corpus Christi; Colt Atwood, Sam Houston State; Kevin Cho, Oral Roberts. Catcher: Zach Luevanos, Lamar. Designated Hitter: Jameson Fisher, Southeastern La.; Hayden Simerly, Sam Houston State. Pitchers: Cody Dickson, Sam Houston State; Chase Greening, Stephen F. Austin; Bryce Biggerstaff, Central Arkansas; Bryce Kingsley, McNeese State; Jeff Enloe, Central Arkansas; Tate Scioneaux, Southeastern La.

 

2013 Southland Conference Individual Awards

Player of the Year: Hunter Dozier, Stephen F. Austin

Hitter of the Year: Hunter Dozier, Stephen F. Austin

Pitcher of the Year: Alex Gonzalez, Oral Roberts

Relief Pitcher of the Year: Brett Higginbotham, Stephen F. Austin

Freshman of the Year: Bryce Kingsley, McNeese State

Newcomer of the Year: Sam Bumpers, Lamar

Clay Gould Coach of the Year: David Pierce, Sam Houston State

 

 

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KINGSVILLE, Texas - Whether it was multiple wins over top 10 teams, a Top 10 ranking, a fifth Lone Star Conference Tournament title, or a school-record 42 wins, the Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball team took another step forward as an elite program in 2013.

That elite season fell short of the Javelinas' ultimate goal of advancing to the NCAA Division II College World Series on Sunday when the Javelinas fell 7-1 to St. Edward's in the NCAA South Central Region Finals at Nolan Ryan Field in Kingsville.

Kingsville ended the season with a 42-17 record bettering the previous high of 38. St. Edward's improved to 42-18.

The game featured a matchup of two of the region's top pitchers coming back on short rest. The Javelinas sent 10-game winner Dallas Ponder to the mound versus Brannon Easterling, who earned his 13th win in the game.

Unfortunately for the Hoggies, it was the Hilltoppers who figured out the other team's ace first as they scored three runs in the first off Ponder and four in a 1-1/3 innings.

Taylor Johnson started things on the fight foot for the Toppers with a solo home run to lead-off the game. Ponder then hit a pair of batters later in the frame who scored on a single Nate Bobrowski for a 3-0 lead.

St. Edward's added single runs in the second and third innings including a solo home run in the third by Dylan Watts off Cody Williams. The home run made it a 5-0 game.

Ryan Guedry put the Javelinas on the board in the bottom of the fifth. With two away, Matt Perez singled and went to second a hit by Travis Laird. Guedry followed with a single to left to drive in Perez.

Easterling would not allow the Javelinas to mount much of a threat the remainder of the game. Kingsville would get just two more runners as far as second base, while the Hilltoppers added their final two runs in the eighth including their third home run of the game a solo shot by Ryan Dolezal.

For the game, Easterling allowed eight hits in nine innings of work. He walked one and struck out five.

Williams would pitch 5-2/3 innings for Kingsville allowing two runs on six hits. He fanned three and walked one. Jeremy Flores, who shattered the single-season and career records for saves finishing the year with 14 and 23 in his career, tossed the final two innings.

 

 

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KINGSVILLE, Texas - It was like déjà vu all over again as Matt Rhodes followed Zach Pettiford's lead in Saturday's first game by tossing a complete against St. Edward's as the Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball team advanced to the region championship with a 6-2 win.

 

The Javelinas, who were in a must-win situation after losing on Friday to Angelo State, won twice on Saturday to improve to 42-17. Kingsville will face the winner of St. Edward's and St. Mary's who meet at 1 p.m. The final game is slated to being at 4 p.m.

 

Rhodes improved to 8-3 by keeping the Hilltoppers at bay. He allowed two runs - one in the third and one in the eighth - on nine hits. The junior gave up nine hits, but walked just one. He struck out four.

 

Much like the first game of the day, Kingsville put a run on the board in the top of the second. James Black and Matt Perez were walked by Paul Smith, while Travis Laird pushed a bunt perfectly towards third base which he beat out for a single to load the bases. With no outs, Ryan Guedry lifted a sacrifice fly to centerfield plating Black.

 

In the third, Kingsville added a three runs in the third to take a 4-0. With one away, Taylor Taska walked and advanced to third on a single by Chris Ballou. Black lined a single up the middle to plate Taska. A shot off the glove of the Hilltopper pitcher by Perez allowed Kingsville to load the bases. With two away, Guedry lined a two-run single to right field plating Black and Ballou.

 

After the Hilltoppers scored in the bottom of the third, Kingsville pushed its advantage to 6-1 with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

 

In the fifth, Ballou reached on an infield hit. He raced to third as Black singled to right and advanced to second on an error. Ballou scampered home on a sacrifice fly to center by Perez.

 

Wallace led off the sixth with a single to left and advanced to second as Joe Tallerine was hit by a pitch. Both Wallace and Tallerine advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Ben Villafuerte. Wallace came home on a sacrifice fly by Taska.

 

St. Edward's would get a run in the bottom of the eighth as Ransom LaLonde doubled in Cutter Runte. Rhodes would thwart any serious comeback attempts.

 

 

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NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Texas A&M - Corpus Christi Baseball team came up short in their bid for a series sweep on Saturday afternoon, falling 6-1 against Stephen F. Austin in the regular season finale at Jaycees Field.

The Islanders (32-22, 17-10 Southland) were unable to solve Lumberjacks starter Justin Choate, with the team registering just one hit through six innings against the SFA senior. Adam Hoelscher (2-4) was tagged with the loss after giving up the first three runs of the game in his appearance.

Neither team could push a run across through the first five innings, with Islanders starter Matt Danton pitching well before being lifted in the sixth inning. That is when SFA did their damage, getting four singles, a walk and a hit-by-pitch to score five runs and gain a 5-0 lead.

The Islanders showed fight in the top of the seventh, with Cody Stephens reaching on a hit-by-pitch but being eliminated on an Eric Weiss fielder's choice. After the second out of the inning, Weiss stole second base and came home on an RBI single by Brad Porras to make it 5-1. Jordan Lee followed with an infield single to put runners on first and second, but Brandon Tierney's hard grounder was knocked down by the pitcher and thrown to first base for the final out of the inning.

The Lumberjacks added a run in the bottom half of the inning to finish the scoring at 6-1.

Next up for the Islanders will be the first round of the Southland Conference Tournament in Sugar Land, Texas. The team will play Central Arkansas at 12 p.m. on Wednesday at Constellation Field.

 

 

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KINGSVILLE, Texas - Senior Zachary Pettiford threw his second complete game of the season on Saturday in a must-win contest in the NCAA South Central Regional at Nolan Ryan Field as the Texas A&M-Kingsville advanced with a 3-0 win over nationally-ranked Colorado Mesa.

With the win, Javelinas (41-17) avoid elimination and advance to a 7 p.m. meeting Saturday night with St. Edward's. Colorado Mesa is eliminated and finishes the season 45-11.

Pettiford scattered eight hits and allowed just two runners to advance into scoring position in the contest. He struck out six hitters and walked none as he improved to 5-3 on an efficient 99 pitches. It was a Javelina record tenth shutout of the season.

Kingsville struck for two runs in the bottom of the second as the bottom portion of the order provided all the offense.

With one away, James Black hit a single to right followed by a hard grounder off the bat of Matt Perez toward short that took a Javelina bounce past Nate Robertson for a hit. Travis Laird rifled a shot to right-center field for a double driving in Black. Perez raced home on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Guedry.

Kingsville rallied for a run with two outs in the fourth. Perez's double to the wall in left-center field. After Laird walked, Guedry looped a single to right field driving in Perez for the 3-0 advantage.

Kyle Davis suffered the loss for the Mavericks following to 8-1 on the season. He allowed three runs on five hits in six innings of work. Cody Lehman pitched two innings of 1-hit relief.

 

 

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NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Texas A&M - Corpus Christi Baseball set a new best for the program on Friday night, winning 6-3 over Stephen F. Austin to clinch the second seed in the upcoming Southland Conference Tournament.

The Islanders (32-21, 17-9 Southland) earned the series win with the victory over SFA (27-27, 14-12 Southland) in the middle game. Trevor Belicek (9-1) earned the victory, pitching 7.0 innings while allowing just two runs on four hits while walking two and striking out five. He allowed just one hit through the first six innings as he pitched another gem. Jacob Dorris came on in the ninth and slammed the door for his 13th save of the season, getting a pair of strikeouts while holding the Lumberjacks scoreless.

Zach Taylor and Cody Stephens did the bulk of the damage with back-to-back hits in the fifth inning that drove in the first four runs of the game. They finished with two RBI each, Taylor on one hit and Stephens on a pair of hits. Stafford Brantley also picked up a pair of hits on the night, while Eric Weiss, Jonathan Gonzales, Brad Porras, Jordan Lee, Brandon Tierney and Brad Lamberti finished with one hit apiece. Tierney and Brantley provided the other two RBI for the Islanders.

The scoring starting in the fifth as Tierney singled and moved to third on a single by Lamberti to put runners on the corners. Lamberti moved up to second on a wild pitch and Brantley walked to load the bases. Taylor followed with a two-RBI double down the left field line to make it 2-0. With Brantley and Taylor in scoring position, Stephens immediately followed with a two-RBI single to center to make it 4-0.

The score remained the same until the top of the sixth, with the Islanders getting a leadoff single by Porras and him moving to second on a single through the right side by Lee. After a pitching change for SFA, the Islanders recorded two straight outs before Brantley came through with an RBI single right side to make it 5-0.

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi would add one more in the seventh, plating the run after a pair of errors allowed Stephens and Weiss to reach to leadoff the inning. After a walk was issued to Lee that loaded the bases, Tierney drew a walk of his own to force in Stephens to make it a 6-0 game.

The Lumberjacks added a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh and one in the eighth, but they would get no more as Dorris shut them down in the final frame.

The series finale is set for a 1 p.m. start at Jaycees Field on Saturday afternoon. Live stats will be available through www.GoIslanders.com, while live video can be found at www.SFAJacks.com.

 

 

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CORPUS CHRISTI - Sophomore Nate Maxey and freshman Dale Francis will not return to the Texas A&M - Corpus Christi men's basketball team, head coach Willis Wilson announced today. Maxey has been granted a release to transfer to another Division I institution, while Francis has decided to step away from basketball at this time.

"We want to wish Nate and Dale the best of luck as they seek to do what is best for their families," Wilson said. "We hope they will be successful in their future endeavors."

Maxey played in 28 games as a sophomore, making five starts, and averaged 4.5 points and 2.9 rebounds on the season. He finished third in the Southland in blocks per game, averaging 2.0 per contest with a total of 57 on the year. In his two-year career, he played in 57 games for the Islanders.

Francis averaged 2.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in his debut season for Texas A&M - Corpus Christi, playing in 29 games while making 18 starts. He shot 46.8 percent from the field and recorded a total of 441 minutes as a freshman.

The Islanders return nine letterwinners from last year's team in addition to sophomore Jake Kocher and freshman Jerred Kite, who both redshirted in 2012-13. The team has signed forwards Jeff Beverly (Houston/Clear Lake) and Rashawn Thomas (Oklahoma City/Southeast) to National Letters of Intent for the 2013-14 season.

 

 

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KINGSVILLE - Dallas Ponder picked up his 10th win of the season and Taylor Taska drove in a pair of runs as the Texas A&M-Kingsville knocked off Colorado State-Pueblo 6-3 for the Javelinas first regional win in seven tries on Thursday in the final game on the opening day of the NCAA South Central Region at Nolan Ryan Field.

With the win, Kingsville moves to 40-16 on the season marking the program's first 40-win season, while the Thunderwolves fall to 32-21. The Hoggies had been winless in three prior regional appearances going 0-6.

Kingsville will face Lone Star Conference rival Angelo State on Friday at 3 p.m. Angelo St., which lost 5-4 to St. Edward's in the opening game, and the Javelinas met in last week's LSC Championship in Canyon. The Javelinas claimed the title in the second game of the Championship and are 4-2 versus the Rams.

In the bottom of the first, Taska and Chris Ballou each plated a run. Taska doubled down the line in left to plate Tallerine and scored on Ballou's double to left.

The score remained 2-0 until the Thunderwolves picked up their first two hits off Ponder in the fifth. The second was a double by Wade Beauvais past a diving Ballou in right that led to Curtis Cowell scoring.

The Hoggies answered with a run in the bottom of the fifth. Tallerine was hit by a pitch to start the inning, went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ben Villafuerte, and stole third. The Kingsville lead-off hitter scored on single by Taska.

The Javelinas added two in the sixth to extend their lead to 5-1. James Black led off with a single and raced home on a 1-out hit by Travis Laird. Matt Perez, who reached on a walk, crossed the plate on a Clint Wallace single to left for a 4-run lead.

Pueblo added a pair of runs in the top of the seventh. Back-to-back singles off Ponder, who had sent the visitors down on strikes in the six, began the frame. The second single went off the shin of Ponder, who was not hurt. The next batter - pinch hitter Evan Kenebrew - doubled to the wall in center scoring both runs. He was the last to face Ponder.

Ponder's official line in six innings of work was three earned runs on five hits. He fanned eight Pueblo hitters and walked just one.

In the bottom of the seventh, Kingsville pushed the lead back to three, 6-3. Ryan Guedry drove in Black, who picked up his third of the day with a double to left.

Offensively, the Javelinas had ten hits off Thunderwolves starter Mike Fabrizio, who fell to 7-2. Black led the way with three hits, while Taska added two. Tallerine and Black each scored twice.

 

 

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NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Texas A&M - Corpus Christi Baseball team earned a 4-2 win on Thursday afternoon, taking the first game of a three-game Southland Conference series against Stephen F. Austin at Jaycees Field. The teams will play the second game at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.

The Islanders (31-21, 16-9 Southland) got an early run and led the entire way against the Lumberjacks (27-26, 14-11 Southland) in the opener of the final regular season series. Trevor Foss (8-6) was in control throughout, surrendering just four hits and two runs in the final inning on a home run by Hunter Dozier, the favorite to win the Southland Conference Player of the Year award. He walked one and struck out eight SFA batters.

The win keeps the Islanders in contention for the regular season Southland Conference Championship, with the winner being decided over the final three games of the season. The Islanders would need one more win and a Central Arkansas sweep of Sam Houston State, or two more wins and UCA taking two-of-three from SHSU.

All but two Islanders picked up a hit, with Eric Weiss and Jordan Lee leading the way with two apiece. Zach Taylor, Cody Stephens, Jonathan Gonzales, Brad Porras and Kyle Danford recording one hit each. Weiss, Porras and Brandon Tierney each added an RBI for the team.

The scoring started immediately, with Texas A&M - Corpus Christi plating the first run of the game in the top of the first inning. Taylor led off the game with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch. He advanced to third when Stephens hit a ball to the shortstop, with Taylor beating the throw to third base on the fielder's choice. Weiss hit into another fielder's choice on the next play, with Stephens beating the throw to second and Weiss beating it out at first for the RBI as Taylor came in to score for a 1-0 lead.

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi added three more runs in the top of the sixth, with Weiss starting the inning with a leadoff single and moving to third on a single by Gonzales. Porras hit an RBI single through the left side to score Weiss as Gonzales moved up to second.

Lee added a hit in the inning, reaching on a bunt single to the left side and forcing a bad throw to allow Gonzales to score on an error by the third baseman and Porras to move over to third base. Tierney followed with an RBI groundout to the shortstop that allowed Porras to score an unearned run that made it a 4-0 game.

It would be all the Islanders needed, as Foss did not allow SFA's third hit of the game until the bottom of the sixth inning. He gave up just four hits total in the game, the last coming with two outs in the ninth as Dozier hit a 1-1 pitch over the left field wall with a runner on as Foss was working towards getting the final out. He induced a fly out to center against the final batter of the game as the Islanders claimed the 4-2 victory.

The two teams will play a night game on Friday, with Trevor Belicek getting the start against Kyle Cross of SFA.

Live video will be available through www.SFAJacks.com, while live stats can be found on www.GoIslanders.com.

 

 

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CORPUS CHRISTI - The 2013 Beach Running World Championships are coming to the beaches of Padre Island this November and will return in 2014.

The Corpus Christi Convention & Visitors Bureau says the event is moving from the normal location of Cocoa Beach, Florida in order to diversify the event.

The two day event is expected to bring hundreds of runners to Corpus Christi as they compete in 5k, 10k, and half marathon distances.

Organizers are betting on low tide conditions during a full moon on the the second weekend of November which will allow a wider running surface.

Registration fees for the events start at $25.

For more information on the event and registration information, visit www.runonthebeach.com.

 

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CORPUS CHRISTI - Rico Noel and Everett Williams collected three RBI's each and Kalian Sams added a two-run homer as San Antonio beat Corpus Christi 11-5 Tuesday night at Whataburger Field before 5,034.

The Missions scored eight runs over the first three frames, including five in a 10-batter third.

Sams' fifth home run - a shot over the left-field berm - lifted the visitors to an early 2-0 advantage. San Antonio had the makings of a bigger first inning, but lead-off man Reymond Fuentes was erased at the plate on a fielder's choice. He reached via a three-base error by left fielder Michael Burgess.

The Missions (20-18) moved up 3-0 in the second, Jeudy Valdez crossing when Noel singled to right.

Conditions further deteriorated for Corpus Christi (22-16) the next inning. Hooks starter Bobby Doran was done after the Missions scored their fourth run on Eddy Rodriguez' double. Reliever Patrick Urckfitz promptly gave up a two-run single by Valdez and Noel's sacrifice fly. Adam Buschini tallied when Williams beat out a swinging bunt up the first-base line. The damage report for the third: five runs on five hits (two doubles) and a hit batsman as San Antonio's lead bulged to 8-0.

Doran (5-1) was charged with four earned runs and seven hits over 2 1/3. He walked one and fanned three.

Max Stassi's run-scoring single and an RBI ground out from Erik Castro cut the lead to 8-2, but San Antonio scored thrice off Nick Tropeano with two away just before the game's mid-point. Noel's single plated Fuentes (double) and Williams followed with a two-run blast onto the right-field pool and spa deck.

The Hooks refused to succumb, solving Missions starter Jose DePaula while putting up three of their own in the fifth. George Springer, Domingo Santana and Jonathan Meyer produced runs with a single, double and ground out, respectively, during the uprising.

DePaula (3-3), who went on to finish six complete, permitted nine hits, walked one and struck out five.

His bullpen - Jeremy McBryde, Chris Rearick and Matt Stites - pitched a scoreless inning apiece to secure the victory. McBryde and Stites recorded three strikeouts.

The series continues Wednesday at 7:05 when Mike Foltynewicz (0-0) takes the ball against Matt Andriese (5-0).

 

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From the City of Corpus Christi

CORPUS CHRISTI - Do you want to be in the middle of the action as top athletes from throughout Texas compete for GOLD right here in Corpus Christi? We are looking for volunteers who will play an important role in making our Olympic-style sporting event a BIG success.

ABOUT THE GAMES: Over 8,000 top athletes are expected to come to Corpus Christi to compete in the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation (TAAF) 2013 Summer Games of Texas, presented by CITGO. This event will be hosted July 25-28, 2013. The state will be watching as the best athletes ignite the flame within. Amateur, recreational, and young Olympic hopeful athletes will converge in Corpus Christi to compete in 12 sports hosted at various venues throughout the city. SPORTS CATEGORIES are: baseball, boxing, fencing, golf, Judo, skateboarding, softball, swimming, table tennis, tennis, track & field, and triathlon. CITGO is the presenting sponsor for this event during 2012 and 2013. Major media partners are KIII-TV3, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, and Tejas Broadcasting. Hurricane Alley Waterpark and the Corpus Christ Convention & Visitors Bureau have also teamed up again as contributing sponsors. For more information about the games, go to www.taaf.com.

Many volunteers are needed for us to host this event so that it will be a great experience for all our participants and visitors. We could use your help throughout the four-day weekend along with the days leading up to it. We will rely on our Games of Texas volunteers to help us tackle the many components of our events, from the preparation to the post-event tasks-from passing out water, assist event coordinators as needed, and more. Volunteers are needed to help with the 12 sporting events (listed above) and additional events.

Not only are our volunteer opportunities rewarding, but they offer a great opportunity to meet new people, help us be ambassadors for our city and have fun in the process.

Don't wait, register today! Interested individuals may send an email to NeomiR@cctexas.com or call 361-826-3148.

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