For eight innings, Corpus Christi’s offense consisted mostly of stranded walks, strikeouts and two singles that briefly interrupted the quiet. The Hooks needed only one more inning to turn all of that frustration into a win.
Max Holy broke a 1-1 tie with his second run-scoring single, and Chase Call drove a ball over Cameron Leary’s head in right-center for a two-run double as the Hooks erupted for four runs in the ninth Friday night, beating the Midland RockHounds 5-2 at Momentum Bank Ballpark.
Corpus Christi finished with only five hits. Three came in the ninth against Blaze Pontes, who also issued four walks and was charged with all four runs.
Will Bush opened the inning with a walk but was erased on Tyler Whitaker’s force out. Hector Salas followed with a ground-ball single to left, sending Whitaker to third and bringing Holy to the plate.
Holy punched another grounder through the right side. Whitaker scored, Salas raced safely into third, and a lineup that had spent most of the night searching for one productive swing finally had the lead.
Zach Daudet walked before Call supplied the inning’s loudest contact. His drive carried beyond Leary and landed at the base of the wall. Holy scored, and Daudet came around behind him, reaching the plate with a headfirst slide as the throw arrived. Call wound up at third, and the Hooks had created the separation that had eluded both clubs all night.
Two more walks prolonged the inning before Midland turned a double play.
Holy went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run, delivering both the tying and go-ahead hits. Call finished 1-for-3 with the double, a walk and two RBIs, while Whitaker walked and scored twice. Justin Thomas Jr. reached three times on a single and two walks and stole a base.
The late burst stood in sharp contrast to the first eight innings. Midland starter Corey Avant held Corpus Christi to one hit over five innings, striking out nine while walking five. Stevie Emanuels struck out four over the next two innings, and Micah Dallas faced the minimum in the eighth after Thomas singled and Jack Moss immediately grounded into a double play.
Midland had taken a 1-0 lead against Nolan DeVos in the second. Ali Camarillo doubled, moved to third on a flyout and scored with two outs when Clark Elliott lined a single to left.
Holy answered in the fourth with Corpus Christi’s first hit. After Whitaker walked and advanced on Salas’ groundout, Holy sent a sharp liner up the middle that glanced off second baseman Casey Yamauchi’s glove and continued into center, allowing Whitaker to score.
The tie survived in part because the Hooks kept Midland off the plate in the fifth. Yamauchi walked and reached third on Jared Sprague-Lott’s double to right, but Corpus Christi’s relay stopped him there. Jose Guedez replaced DeVos with runners at second and third and one out, then got Brennan Milone on a fielder’s choice to third as Yamauchi was thrown out at home. A groundout ended the threat.
DeVos allowed one earned run over 4 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking three. Guedez followed with 2 2/3 scoreless innings, and Ramsey David struck out one in a perfect eighth to earn the win and improve to 4-4.
Midland loaded the bases on three walks against Amilcar Chirinos in the ninth and scored when Logan Sauve grounded into a force out. Chirinos answered by striking out Yamauchi, closing a night in which Hooks pitching held the RockHounds to four hits.
Corpus Christi struck out 14 times and drew nine walks. For most of the night, that imbalance left traffic without runs. In the ninth, the walks and the hits finally arrived together.