TEXAS A&M - CORPUS CHRISTI AT KLEBERG BANK COLLEGE
CLASSIC
Whataburger Field (7,400) • Corpus Christi, Texas
LIVE VIDEO/STATS: GoIslanders.com
ISLANDERS VS. INDIANA
Friday, Feb. 25 • 6 p.m.
ISLANDERS: LHP Todd
Simko (1-0, 0.00) | IU: LHP Drew Leininger (0-1, 7.20)
ISLANDERS VS. OREGON STATE
Saturday, Feb. 26 • 6 p.m.
ISLANDERS: RHP Brett
Carnline (0-0, 4.15) | OSU: LHP Ben Wetzler (0-0, 0.00)
ISLANDERS VS. CONNECTICUT
Sunday, Feb. 27 • 3 p.m.
ISLANDERS: RHP Justin
Meza (2-0, 6.43) | UCONN: LHP Greg Nappo (0-0, 9.00)
THE FIRST PITCH
Coming off its biggest win in Scott
Malone's tenure, the Texas A&M - Corpus Christi baseball
team will play host to the Kleberg Bank College Classic this
weekend at Whataburger Field. The Islanders will be joined by
Indiana, Oregon State and No. 14 Connecticut at the annual College
Classic.
On Tuesday, the Islanders knocked off No. 6 Texas in Austin, 8-7
behind consistent hitting and an impressive pitching performance by
four newcomers. Texas A&M - Corpus Christi scored in six of the
nine innings against the Longhorns, with catcher Jumpy
Garcia leading the way with his four RBI. Justin
Meza struck out seven in 5 1/3 innings to win his first
collegiate start, while Michael
Boyle and Todd
Simko held the Horns scoreless for the final 2 2/3 innings.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
Indiana comes into the weekend series 1-2 after a solid
performance at the Caravelle Resort Invitational in Myrtle Beach.
The Hoosiers dropped the first two before pulling out a thrilling,
2-1 win over Coastal Carolina in 16 innings. Connecticut is 1-2
after a disappointing performance at the Big Ten/BIG EAST
Challenge. The Huskies enter on a winning note after a 16-9
shellacking of Michigan. Oregon State is 2-2, having beaten Gonzaga
twice, but losing a pair of games to No. 35 Fresno State.
HOT START
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi's 5-0 start is the best for the
Islanders since opening 9-0 in the 2007 season. The Islanders, who
opened that season with series sweeps of Centenary, Texas Southern
and Grambling, finished the year with a 27-29 overall record.
KNOCKING OFF THE BIG BOYS
The Islanders' win over No. 6 Texas on Tuesday marked the highest
ranked opponent that they have beaten since a season-opening
victory over the No. 1 Longhorns on Feb. 5, 2003. Last year, the
Islanders went 2-3 against ranked foes, winning two of three from
Southeastern Louisiana but falling twice to UT.
MIGHT AS WELL JUMP
There were several heroes in the Islanders' victory over the
sixth-ranked Longhorns, but offensively the star was Jumpy
Garcia. Garcia drove in four runs - his second straight game
with four RBI on two hits for the Islanders.
The transfer from Southeastern (Iowa) Junior College leads the
team with his nine RBI on the season. He hit his first career home
run in the series finale against Mississippi Valley State, drilling
a three-run homer to right field. He has also been impressive
behind the dish, throwing out two of the five runners who have
tried to steal on him.
A native of Brooklyn, he hit 20 homers and drove in 91 for
Southeastern a year ago. His given name is Jon-Pierre Garcia, but
it was shortened to Jumpy early in his childhood.
VERGNE EARNS WEEKLY HONORS
Senior Chris
Vergne was named Southland Conference Hitter of the Week. It is
the first career honor for Vergne and the first weekly honor for a
member of the Texas A&M - Corpus Christi baseball team since Jacob
Perales earned Hitter of the Week laurels on May 3, 2010.
Vergne had a spectacular first weekend of the season, hitting
.727 (8-for-11) with eight runs scored and five RBI in a four-game
sweep of Mississippi Valley State. The senior from San Juan, Puerto
Rico (Puerto Rico Baseball Academy), had hits in all four games and
scored the winning run in the final at bat of both of the
Islanders' one-run victories on Saturday. Vergne scored three runs
in the season opener and two in both games two and four of the
series.
In the series finale, he went 3-for-3 with a two-run home run
and four RBI to spark the Islanders offense in the 12-2 win. Of his
eight hits on the weekend, he had two doubles, a triple and a home
run, giving him a slugging percentage of 1.369. He drew two walks,
did not strike out and had an on-base percentage of .769.
SIZZLING SIMKO
In his Islanders debut, Cuesta College transfer Todd
Simko was spectacular, punching out seven Delta Devils against
no walks in earning his first career victory. The junior
surrendered just three singles and four baserunners over his five
innings of work. The southpaw allowed just one flyout, a popup to
second, as opposed to six groundouts.
With the game on the line against Texas, the Islanders again
called on Simko. With the visitors on top 8-7, Simko got the ball
in the closer's role after normal closer Michael
Boyle got the call in a tense situation in the seventh. Simko
retired the first two men in quick succession, then, after an error
put the tying run on second, coolly induced a popup to left to end
the game. In six innings of work, he has allowed just three hits
and no walks this season.
MENACING MEZA
Making his first collegiate start, freshman Justin
Meza showed no fear going against No. 6 Texas. The Moody High
graduate punched out seven Longhorns and allowed two hits over 5
1/3 innings of work to improve to 2-0 on the season.
Meza, who also pitched 1 2/3 innings in relief against MVSU, sat
out last year as a non-qualifier and worked solely on his
academics. He was an all-state selection and the All-South Texas
MVP in 2009.
