Season Sweep Of HBU On The Horizon

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Riding a series road win against Stephen F. Austin, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi returns to Chapman Field to host leg two of its home-and-home series with Houston Baptist. 

The Islanders dropped the Huskies just two weeks ago in Sugar Land, Texas by a count of 5-3, where right hander Chad Romere made the first start of his 2018 season. The redshirt senior tossed 4.0 innings, while conceding a single run against HBU, as his side outhit their hosts 9-7 on the afternoon. Coach Scott Malone's side is 12-4 against Houston Baptist all-time, while winning seven of the pair's previous eight meetings. The Blue and Green look to make it three straight wins against the Huskies this Tuesday and put their record back to .500.

WHAT TO KNOW
Who: Houston Baptist
When: Tuesday, 6 PM
Pitching Matchup: AMCC: J. Owens (2-2) v HBU: T. Franzman (0-0)
Where: Chapman Field | Corpus Christi, Texas
Watch: Islander Digital Network

PROMOTIONS>> The first 150 Blue and Green fans in attendance for this Tuesday's contest at the Chap, will receive a free Islanders draw-string bag

AT THE PLATE
>> Three Islanders are on hitting streaks of five or more games; Harrison DiNicola (7), Itchy Burts (6) and Enrique Sanchez Jr. (5)
>> Catcher Scott Balfantz hit the first home run of his career in the Blue and Green's finale against Stephen F. Austin, bringing his team's season total to 20 in 2018
>> Burts is currently leading his side with a .380 batting average on the year. He's been slashing .408/.474/.469 since becoming a regular starter in early April
>> Outfielder Nick Anderson, briefly held the hit by pitch title this Saturday after getting plunked for the 19th time this season. He still sits in second overall, trailing Florida A&M's Dallas Oliver by two.
 
ON THE HILL
>> Jackson Owens gets his second midweek start of the year, after moving from the weekend rotation last week. He surrendered two runs over 3.2 IP against UTSA last week, and currently ranks fourth in the country in triples, as a hitter
>> All three of the Islanders' ERA leaders are lefties, with southpaws Cody LeCompte and A.G. Ayala combining for 38.2 IP, a 4-2 record and a single save
>> Friday starter Aaron Hernandez currently sits 25th in the country with 79 strikeouts, his 11.98 K/9 trails only UNO's Bryan Warzek (12.98) for the top mark in the SLC
>> The Corpus Christi pitching staff has combined for three shutouts this season, placing them in second to Central Arkansas (4) for a conference-high

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
>> The HBU offense relies heavily on its ability to hit the long ball, with the team currently ranked 26th in all of Division I baseball in total home runs (42)
>> Huskies catcher Matt Heck currently leads his side in the three major hitting categories, slashing .353/.404/.603
>> The Islanders will be facing left hander Taylor Franzman on Tuesday, in the junior's first start and sixth appearance of the year. The southpaw holds a season ERA of 5.14 over 7.0 innings of work, but is yet to surrender an extra base knock this year

For those hoping to catch this week's festivities, but can't attend the contest, Blue and Green fans can watch the live stream via the Islander Digital Network, powered by AEP Texas.

COMING UP NEXT
Corpus Christi gets right back on the road this weekend, facing off with Central Arkansas for a three-game series in Conway. The Islanders hope to make moves up the current Southland Conference standings, sitting just two games outside of eighth place, and the final seed in this year's SLC tournament.

STAY SOCIAL
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