Islanders to Celebrate Seniors this Weekend

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi softball team will play its final series of the 2017 season this weekend at Chapman Field as the Incarnate Word comes to the Coastal Bend for a three-game set. Friday's doubleheader is slated for 1&3 p.m., while Saturday's first pitch is scheduled for noon.
 
Seniors Liz Carter and Mackinzee Griebel will be the center of attention on Saturday, as the Islanders will hold a pregame ceremony to honor the career achievements before their final game in the Blue and Green.
 
The Islanders (11-34, 3-18) pushed the University of Texas to the brink on Wednesday in Austin, before falling 3-0. Liz Carter, per usual, kept the Longhorn batters off balance in the final road game of her career, striking out four in the process.
 
Griebel enters the last series of the year with a .315 clip at the plate, going for her first season with a .300-plus average. Savannah Sandoval, who has started 19 games in the leadoff spot, is hitting .253 with four RBI this season. Carter, Kandace Johnson, Candice Hadd and Aspen Auger have each reached double figures in RBI.
 
Carter has struck out a career-high 158 batters this season, which ranks first in the Southland Conference and 44th in the nation. The Austin native notched her 85th career complete game on Wednesday, which ranks second in the Islanders record book.
 
Before the games on Friday and Saturday, the Islanders Student-Athlete Activities Committee will be taking donations for Samaritan's Feet, an organization dedicated to creating a world with zero shoeless children, where $20 will give a child anywhere in the world a new pair of shoes and socks.
 
For the Cardinals (11-39, 4-20), 2017 has been a season of ups and down. UIW has dropped 10 of its last 12 Southland Conference games coming into this weekend. Daniell Ramirez has a .352 clip at the plate, while Mikaela Flores has driven in 25 RBI to power the offense. In the circle, a trio of arms in Joanna Valencia, Sarah Leal and Bridget Stein have made 41 starts this season with a staff ERA of 5.85.

STAY SOCIAL
For all the latest information on Islanders Softball, be sure to follow the team on Twitter and Instagram (@IslandersSBall) and like the team on Facebook (Islanders Softball).