CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Coming off a 2-1 series win at UT-Arlington, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi looks to continue its hot start to the season at Edinburg this Tuesday. The Islanders have taken seven of their last nine decisions against this week's opponent UTRGV, and will try to improve their overall record against the Vaqueros, which currently sits at 7-2.
Corpus Christi registered 26 hits against the Mavericks over three games this past weekend, while all nine players tallied a knock over the course of the series. The Blue and Green took wins on Friday and Sunday to finish the series 2-1, opening the season with a series win for the third time in the last four years.
The Islanders' competition this week will be the first leg of a home-and-home series with UTRGV, looking to win their share of the South Texas Showdown, presented by NavyArmy Community Credit Union for a third straight year.
WHAT TO KNOW
Who: UTRGV
When: Tuesday, 6 PM
Where: UTRGV Baseball Stadium | Edinburg, Texas
Watch: WAC Digital Network
AT THE PLATE
>>
Drake Osborn and
Nick Anderson collected a knock in each of their three appearances to start the season, with Osborn leading all batters with five hits
>> With a home run and a double in 11 at-bats, Anderson currently leads the Islanders with a .727 slugging percentage
>>
Harrison DiNicola recorded the first home run of his career in Game 1 of the Blue and Green's three-game series at UT-Arlington, hitting a go ahead grand slam in the ninth inning
>>
Steven Rivera-Chijin, Andruid Martinez and
Thomas Jeffries IV each tallied their first hits as Islanders this weekend, with Jeffries' leading all newcomers with a pair of RBI
>> Starting Game 3 against the Mavericks on the mound, senior
Jackson Owens leads Corpus Christi with a .571 batting average in his first two games, good enough for fourth in the Southland this year
ON THE HILL
>>
Tate Gillespie will take the bump for the Islanders this Tuesday, holding the Mavericks scoreless over 2.2 innings of work in relief on Saturday
>> Corpus Christi's .245 batting average against, ranks third in the Southland to start the year, yielding just 23 knocks to UTA over three games this weekend
>> Owens tallied a quality start win in his first start on the mound this Sunday, tossing six shutout innings, and holding the Mavs to just three hits
>> Including Gillespie, six Islander relievers currently have an ERA of 0.00, with righty
David Worrell earning his side's first save of the year this past Sunday
SCOUTING THE VAQUEROS
>> UTRGV has been plunked nine times already this season, going 4-0 in its self-hosted Al Ogletree Classic in Edinburg
>> Pinch hitter Elijah Alexander hit a walk-off single to beat Central Michigan in their first game of the year, he currently leads all Vaqueros with a .571 on-base percentage
>> Between their two games against Southland Conference member Stephen F. Austin, UTRGV hit three of their six home runs this season, while the SFA pitching staff threw five wild pitches and hit six batters overall
COMING UP NEXT
The Blue and Green continue on to the Kleberg Baseball College Classic to be held at Whataburger Field this Friday through Sunday, facing off with Nicholls, UC-Santa Barbara and No. 12 Mississippi State.
All TAMUCC Students with a valid Sand Dollar ID can purchase Kleberg Baseball College Classic tickets for five dollars apiece, while non-student tickets are available at 10 dollars for a single day pass and 24 for a full weekend.
STAY SOCIAL
For more information on Islanders Baseball, follow the team on Twitter (
@IslandersBSB), Instagram (
@islandersbsb) and like their Facebook page (
Islanders Baseball).
- Go Islanders -
