CORPUS CHRISTI - After a four-game road swing the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball team returns home for a Southland Conference series with second place Northwestern State at Chapman Field starting Friday night.
The Islanders (19-17, 9-9 SLC) sit in eighth place with just 12 league games remaining on the schedule. After winning six consecutive games from Apr. 7 - Apr. 18, the team has dropped it last two.
LOOKING AT NORTHWESTERN STATE
The Demons come into the weekend at 22-17 overall and 14-6 in the Southland. Winners of their last two games, the Demons have picked up victories in six of their last eight games. NSU is led by Chase Daughdrill and Cort Brinson who are both hitting over .300 and have 50+ hits. Twins Adam and Josh Oller have a combined record of 11-3 on the hill with each starting 10 games. Adam Oller leads the team with 74 innings and 46 strikeouts.
SERIES HISTORY; RECENT MEETINGS WITH THE DEMONS
Overall Northwestern State leads the all-time series 17-13, but the islanders have had the advantage over the last three seasons, with a 7-3 series lead. In 2014, the Islanders picked up the series sweep at NSU.
IT'S GONE
As a team, the Islanders have hit 11 home runs on the season. During its last seven games though, the team has four. Against New Orleans, junior first baseman Justin Perales connected on his second solo jack of the year and his first since Feb. 22 during the Kleberg Bank College Classic against Sam Houston State and again Perales connected for a solo shot at UTSA.
AN UNEXPECTED SURPRISE
Coming into the season, sophomore Casey Thomas was heralded as one of the most outstanding middle infield defenders in the JUCO ranks after being named a Gold Glove winner at shortstop his final season at Gateway JC. He has impressed defensively so far during his time on the Island, but has excelled especially at the plate for the Islanders. The Phoenix, Ariz. native is second on the team with a .341 average on 43 hits to go along with 22 RBI.
YOU'RE OUT!
Trevor Belicek is ranked 8th in the country in strikeouts (83) and is 3rd in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (12.88). The left has fanned 10 or more batters in four starts this season. The Uvalde, Texas native is 11th in the country with seven wins.
THREE-BAGGER
The Islanders lead the conference and ranks 5th in the country with 18 triples on the year. Tyler Ware leads the team with five triples on the year which is good enough for 14th nationally. The team is also 5th in the nation with .50 triples per game.
JUST WALK IT OUT
Tyler Ware has made a habit of reaching base. The senior leads the team and conference in walks (27) and on-base percentage at .475. The senior is 43rd nationally in walks per game (0.77) and 64th in total walks.
HE'S A WORKHORSE
Just 107 pitchers have thrown complete games this season and senior Matt Danton is one of them. He ranks 40th nationally with two complete games. Danton leads the team and is fifth in the Southland with an ERA of 1.79.
SHUT EM' DOWN
As a club, the Islanders have recorded four shutouts on the year, with the last two coming at Nicholls in the conference opener. The team ranks 23rd in the nation in the category, with Vanderbilt leading the nation with eight shutouts.
SOUTHLAND WEEKLY HONORS
Senior outfielder Jordan Lee was named the Southland Conference Hitter of the Week for the week of April 7-14 after he led the Islanders to a 4-1 record, including a doubleheader split with Texas-Pan American and a weekend sweep over Abilene Christian. Lee put together a career week on the diamond as he paced the team with a .579 average (11-of-19) to go along with a slugging percentage of 1.053. The senior hammered two home runs in back-to-back games versus Abilene Christian. A Houston, Texas native, Lee also drew five walks for a .667 on-base percentage and didn't strikeout once. The outfielder scored a total of nine times and drove in five runs. He also showed his speed on the base paths with three stolen bases.
BAD LUCK
Five times this year, the team has been forced to cancel a game due to weather. The team played just one of four games against UT Arlington and were not able to play the series finale at Louisiana Tech. The most recent game affected by the weather was a midweek game with Houston-Victoria.
THE MALONE FILE
Scott Malone will begin his eighth year at the Island University. Malone has a career record of 207-229-2, all coming from his time with the Islanders.
RETURNING DEPTH
The Islanders return 15 letterwinners from a season ago, including regular position starters Jordan Lee, Tyler Ware, Frankie Salas, Zack Gibson, Kyle Danford and Dom Lopez. Additionally, the Islanders will have the likes of senior Matt Danton and Trevor Belicek back on the mound, with both starting 15 games last season. The Islanders have quality arms in Jacob Dorris and Dalton D'Spain, as well as Devin Skapura returning to the hill.
NEW FACES
The team has added an array of talent on the recruiting trail including shortstop Casey Thomas, third baseman Cody Clarke, infielder Justin Perales and pitchers Garrett Harris (RHP) and Carter Lilly (LHP).
BRINGING IN THE TALENT
According to Perfect Game USA, the Islanders finished with the 80th best signing class in the country, out of 302 Division I programs.
PRESEASON SLC HONORS
Seniors Matt Danton and Tyler Ware garnered first team All-Southland honors while Jordan Lee was named to the second team. Danton was the most dominant player on the mound for the Islanders last year. The Bryan, Texas native led the team with 101 innings pitched and 15 starts on his way to a 7-4 record. He struck out 64 batters and walked just 22 on the year while leading the team with a 3.64 ERA. Ware was an offensive force for the Islanders during the 2013-14 campaign. The outfielder from Omaha, Neb. led the team in triples (6) and home runs (3) on his way to a .287 batting average. The lefty appeared in 57 games for the Islanders and drove in 33 runs on the year. Lee led the team in stolen bases with 18 his junior year. The Houston, Texas native also posted a .309 batting average with 71 hits and 23 walks in 57 games for the Islanders. The left-handed hitter recorded two home runs and four doubles while driving in 29 runs.
PRESEASON POLL
Sam Houston State, the defending SLC regular season champion, and winners of the last three conference championships, was tabbed as the preseason favorite after receiving 138 votes to edge the Islanders (128) for first-place. The projected finish is the highest preseason ranking the Islanders have received in program history. Southeastern Louisiana (115) was picked third and was followed by Northwestern State (109), Nicholls (98), McNeese St. (90), Central Arkansas (89), Lamar (77), Stephen F. Austin (49), Houston Baptist (48), Abilene Christian (27), Incarnate Word (26) and New Orleans (20).
2014 CLASS
Former Islanders third baseman Brandon Tierney earned first team All-Central Region honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association following the 2014 season. The Arlington, Texas, native was a first team All-Southland selection following the regular season, the only Islander to pick up first team honors. Tierney, along with Texas A&M-Kingsville's Derrick Walls, were named the Coastal Bend's top collegiate performers in 2014. Tierney also earned the Islanders Most Valuable Player honor after he hit .341 with three home runs and 32 RBIs in 56 games last year. He led the squad in batting average, total bases (99), extra-base hits (18) and slugging percentage (.463).
Catcher Russell Vaughan was named to the 2014 Capital One Academic All-America Division I first team at the conclusion of the 2014 season. Vaughan became the fourth Islander in any sport named to the first team, becoming the first to do so since two baseball players, Trey Hearne and Jamie Landin, were both named first team All-America in 2005. The catcher became the eighth player in school history to pick up All-America laurels and only the third member of the Islanders baseball team.
FOLLOW ALONG
To keep up with the team this weekend, as well as updates throughout the season, be sure to follow the team on Twitter and Instagram (@IslandersBSB) and Facebook (Islanders Baseball). Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the Islanders Front Row App at GoIslanders.com/frontrow.
