Corpus Christi spent Wednesday night crowding the edge of trouble, issuing 13 walks, committing two errors and giving Midland nearly every chance to erase a four-run deficit. The Hooks never let the RockHounds finish the job.
A two-out eruption in the third inning supplied all the offense Corpus Christi needed until the ninth, and five pitchers stranded 17 runners in a 5-3 victory at Momentum Bank Ballpark.
The escape began with Adam Shoemaker’s Double-A debut. Shoemaker allowed one hit over four scoreless innings, striking out two and walking six. Midland put multiple runners aboard in each of his first four innings, including loading the bases in the third, but failed to score against him.
That gave the Hooks time to break through against Nathan Dettmer.
Justin Thomas Jr. drew a one-out walk in the third and advanced when Anthony Huezo grounded out. Will Bush followed with another walk before Walker Janek drove a fly ball off the wall in left-center. Thomas scored, Bush stopped at third and Janek pulled into second with an RBI double that opened the scoring.
Jack Moss kept the inning moving with a grounder up the middle that glanced off Dettmer. Shortstop Ali Camarillo made a barehanded pickup, but Bush scored easily and Janek raced home behind him on the throw to first. The infield single gave Moss his first two Double-A RBIs and pushed the lead to 3-0.
Dettmer departed before Alejandro Nuñez walked. Max Holy, back in the lineup after a stint on the injured list, greeted Domingo Robles with a sharp RBI single to left that scored Moss and completed the four-run inning.
Moss finished 1-for-4 with two RBIs and a run. Janek went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, while Holy added the RBI single in his return.
The Hooks collected eight hits, but none from the fourth through the eighth changed the scoreboard. That left their pitchers to protect the third-inning outburst through a steady stream of traffic.
Midland finally broke through against Max Martin in the fifth. Bobby Boser walked, C.J. Pittaro reached on Holy’s error and Camarillo walked to load the bases. Casey Yamauchi singled home Boser, and a two-out walk to Cameron Leary forced in Pittaro.
Amilcar Chirinos entered with the bases still loaded and ended the inning by getting CJ Rodriguez to ground out. Chirinos worked around another error and a walk in the sixth, striking out Pittaro and Camarillo to preserve the 4-2 lead. His 1 1/3 scoreless innings earned him the win.
The pressure did not disappear. Alejandro Torres allowed three hits and two walks over two innings, but Midland managed only one run against him. That came when Boser sent a breaking ball high toward left-center in the eighth and watched it clear the wall for his 11th home run, cutting the Hooks’ lead to 4-3.
Boser reached four times, going 1-for-2 with the homer and three walks. Torres prevented the inning from growing by following another walk with a double play.
Corpus Christi finally created some breathing room in the ninth. Hector Salas lined a leadoff single to center, and Alberto Hernandez followed with a sharp hit into left. Hernandez hustled into second as Salas reached third, putting two runners in scoring position with nobody out. Thomas lifted a sacrifice fly to center to bring Salas home and restore a two-run cushion.
Ramsey David made that cushion hold, though Midland produced one last threat. David struck out Pedro Pineda, then allowed a walk and a single before Janek handled a soft grounder and threw to first for the second out. David struck out Jared Sprague-Lott on a foul tip to strand two more runners and secure his third save.
The Hooks won their second consecutive game after entering the series on a four-game losing streak. This one required four runs in a single inning — and nine innings of refusing to let Midland turn opportunity into a comeback.