Six-foot-five righthander Matthew Watson pitched the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders to a 4-2 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners Friday night.
Watson (1-1) worked six innings and picked up the win in the first of a three-game series at Chapman Field in Corpus Christi.
The native of Rogers, Ark., limited the explosive Roadrunners to two runs on six hits, while walking one and striking out eight. The Roadrunners had been on fire coming into the series, scoring 58 runs in a five-game stretch.
Leading by the eventual final score in the ninth, the Islanders held off the Roadrunners to win. UTSA had runners at the corners when Evans Hendricks, a lefty reliever, struck out Broc Parmer to end the game.
Parmer came to the plate with two hits, including a solo homer, but Hendricks fanned him swinging to end the threat.
UTSA freshman Rob Orloski pitched well through five innings in his fourth outing of the season, but he found trouble in the sixth and was touched for three runs to take the loss.
Orloski (1-2) pitched five and 2/3 innings, yielding four runs on eight hits. He struck out three and walked three.
Coming up
The series continues Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Records
UTSA 7-7
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 8-8
Notable
Two former San Antonio area ball players figured prominently in the victory for the Islanders. Catcher Chance Reisdorph (New Braunfels Canyon) threw out Caleb Hill trying to steal second base in the first inning to help keep the Roadrunners off the scoreboard. Reisdorph attacked with his bat in the fourth with a leadoff double against Orloski. He eventually scored the first run of the game. In the sixth inning, A&M-Corpus Christi’s Cole Modgling (Medina Valley) came off the bench with a pinch-hit single off Ruger Riojas that scored two runs.