Owens and Company Earn SLC All-Conference Honors

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Five Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball players received All-Southland Conference honors this week, with infielder Jackson Owens earning First Team recognition as a utility player. Owens tallied additional Second Team honors as a designated hitter, along with teammates Harrison Dinicola and Itchy Burts at first base and outfield respectively. Catcher Drake Osborn garnered Third Team nods as a catcher, while outfielder Nick Anderson represents the Blue and Green on this year's All-Defensive Team list.

Playing in all 56 of the Islanders' 2018 contests, Owens split the majority of his time between third base and designated hitter, while making nine starts on the hill, eight at second base and two at shortstop. Competing in his final year on the Island, the Corinth-native drove in a team-high of 40 runs over the course of the season on the way to hitting .303. With a pair of home runs, Owens' eight triples rank third in all of Division I baseball, while his 12 career three-baggers are the second-most of any Islander in program history. The infielder's .473 slugging percentage was third for the Blue and Green overall, while his 13 HBP place him 11th in the Southland. 

Jackson Owens
First Team All-Conference Utility | Second Team All-Conference Designated Hitter
Senior | INF/DH/RHP | Corinth, Texas | Lake Dallas HS | Florida State | Howard College

• Eight triples rank third in all of DI baseball
• Slashed .303/.389/.473 on the year, while getting plunked 13 times
• 40 RBI are a team-high, while his 27 in conference play are tied for second
• Played four different defensive positions over the course of the year, in addition to the designated hitter role
• 12 stolen bases ranked second for the Islanders, and was caught stealing just twice all year

Proving himself as a team leader in his junior year, Harrison Dinicola drove in 38 runs over the course of the year, while tallying a team-best eight home runs. His 27 extra base hits and .527 slugging percentage were both team-highs, with his 16 doubles sit in a tie for the sixth most in the conference. Dinicola found first base at a regular pace in 2018, failing to touch first safely in just seven of his 56 starts on the season. The junior was a big part of the Islanders' defensive infield as well, helping to turn 35 double plays on the way to executing a .983 fielding percentage on the year.

Harrison Dinicola
Second Team All-Conference First Baseman
Junior | 1B | Kemah, Texas | Clear Creek HS

• Eight home runs were a team-high and were only three off the highest tally in the conference
• Started all of the Islanders' 56 contests, leading his side with a .527 slugging percentage
• Began the year on a 13-game on base streak, failing to reach first safely in all but seven contests in 2018
• 16 doubles and 118 total bases ranked sixth and seventh in the Southland respectively
• Season fielding percentage of .983, while collecting 32 assists and helping to turn 35 double plays

A clear candidate for Regional All-American honors, Itchy Burts was one of just 13 players in all of Division I baseball to hit over .400 on the season. His .401 for the year and .424 in conference were both tops of the Southland, as the sophomore finished out his second season on the Island on a 21-game hitting streak. After earning just four starts through the first two months of the 2018 campaign, Burts was a regular in the lineup in the last 27 contests of the Blue and Green's 2018 season, failing to earn a knock in just one of his 31 starts all year. The outfielder held a team-high .468 on base average, while his .500 in SLC-play was second in the entire conference, all the while driving in 23 runs, despite spending the majority of his appearances in the leadoff.

Itchy Burts
Second Team All-Conference Outfield
Sophomore | OF | League City, Texas | Clear Creek HS

• One of just 13 players in Division I to hit over .400 for the year
• .401 BA and .424 in conference play are both Southland bests
• Finished the season on a 21-game hitting streak, earning a knock in all but one of his 31 starts in 2018
• On base percentage of .468 was a team-high, while his .500 in SLC play ranked second in the conference
• Struck out once in an average of 10.5 at bats, making him the third hardest to strike out in all of the Southland

Playing well both in the box and behind the dish, Drake Osborn proved that the Islanders' catcher position will be secure for years to come. Slashing .293/.345/.488 on the year, Osborn came alive during the SLC season, bumping those numbers to .316/.368/.510. His slugging percentage against Southland opponents was the highest for the Blue and Green in 2018, and better than any other catcher in the conference. Osborn tallied six home runs during his sophomore campaign overall, trailing only Dinicola for a team-high, and drove in a total of 36 runs over his 39 starts.

Drake Osborn
Third Team All-Conference Catcher
Sophomore | C | Sandia, Texas | Orange Grove HS

• Six home runs are second only to Dinicola for a team-high, while his four in conference are the most of any SLC backstop
• Drove in 36 runs over his 39 starts at catcher
• Gunned down eight potential base stealers with six assists defensively
• Slashed .293/.345/.488 on the season, but boosted those numbers to .316/.368/.510 when playing against Southland opponents
• 19 extra base hits this year are tied for third-most on the season, recording 12 doubles and a triple

Earning his first Southland All-Defensive Team honor, Nick Anderson tallied a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage over 117 chances in 2018. The outfielder threw out two runners over the course of the season, while helping to turn a pair of double plays. Anderson was a big part of the Islanders offense as well, driving in 35 runs with five homers and 19 extra base hits. The outfielder owns his program's single season record in HBP after wearing 20 pitches this past season, and briefly held the title for most hit by pitches in all of Division I baseball earlier in the year.

Nick Anderson
All-Conference Defensive Right Fielder
Junior | OF | Sugar Land, Texas | Kempner HS

• Was perfect defensively, posting a 1.000 fielding percentage
• Gunned down a pair of runners from the outfield, with two assists in 2018
• Tallied 115 putouts overall, helping to turn a pair of double plays
• 20 HBP rank 12th in the country, briefly holding the number one spot earlier in the year
• Went deep five times on the season, driving in 35 runs overall

Despite some unforeseen circumstances barring the Blue and Green from postseason play in 2018, the Islanders had a historic run. In addition to Anderson's record in HBP, the Islander pitching staff set a single season program record with 466 combined Ks, while their 569 hits and 34 sac flies are the top mark in the conference. The Islanders' 10-2 record at the start of the season was their best start in program history, reaching 30 wins for the first time since 2014. Corpus Christi downed four teams ranked in the rpi top-100 over the season, including two that finish the 2018 campaign in the top-30. Corpus Christi falls just short of the Southland Conference Championship in ninth place this year, finishing 2018 on an 8-1 run in Southland-play.

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