Baseball Visits UIW in Penultimate Series

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – In the penultimate series of the regular season, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball aims to keep its postseason hopes alive as the Blue and Green makes the short trip to San Antonio to face the Cardinals of UIW.
 
The Islanders and Cardinals open the series Friday night at 6:30 p.m. before continuing with a 3 p.m. meeting on Saturday and 1 p.m. finale Sunday afternoon.
 
Corpus Christi (17-31, 9-15) enters the weekend riding high after taking two of three from Southland-leading McNeese last weekend. The Islanders earned wins on Saturday and Sunday to stun the Cowboys and pick up two much needed victories.
 
Heading into the weekend at UIW, the Islanders are three games back of a three-way tie for seventh, eighth and ninth in the Southland standings. The top eight teams make the Southland Conference Tournament as the Blue and Green aims to make a late-season charge.
 
The Islanders will once again start redshirt-freshman Dustin Lacaze in the opener on Friday night while not naming a starter for Saturday or Sunday.
 
Reigning Southland Hitter of the Week Dalton Stark will look to stay hot for the Blue and Green. Stark keyed the Islanders' series win at McNeese with a pair of home runs and six RBI. The junior now leads the Islanders with a .323 average on the season, along with senior Dawson Yates.
 
UIW has three players hitting above .300 on the season, led by Eddy Gonzalez at .349. Lee Thomas hits .290 and leads the Cardinals with 31 RBI and five home runs. On the mound, the Cardinals have found the going tough, led by Bernie Martinez with a 4.29 ERA on the season.
 
The Islanders and Cardinals have met once already this season in a non-conference midweek contest. The Blue and Green claimed a 10-8 victory over UIW as Luke Marbach drove in three runs while Stark added a pair of RBI.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
 
Live stats for all three games will be available through UIW at this link. Live Video is scheduled to be available for Saturday's game.
 
For the latest updates and news about Islanders baseball, follow the Blue and Green on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.