Baseball opens season with four-game UT-Arlington series

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- The Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi baseball program (0-0, 0-0 Southland) kicks off the 2019 campaign with a four-game home series against UT-Arlington (0-0, 0-0 Sun Belt), battling the Mavericks Friday night through Monday afternoon at Chapman Field. Despite a six-game winning streak (and eight of the final nine) to close out the 2018 season, a three-way tie for seventh in the Southland standings eliminated the Islanders from post-season play; moving forward, the Blue & Green have armored their schedule with numerous tough non-conference in preparation for yet-another run at the league title. 

As the offseason waned into its final weeks, a number of Islanders were recognized for their individual success last year, including LHP Cody LeCompte, INF Enrique Sanchez Jr., 2B Itchy Burts and C Drake Osborn. Burts, who led the Islanders in both batting percentage (.401) and on-base percentage (.468) last season, earned the program's lone spot on the Preseason All-Southland first team while both Sanchez and Osborn worked their way to second team nods. Outside of the league, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association named LeCompte to the prestigious Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List, an award given annually to the nation's top NCAA DI reliever.

Other notable returners include senior OF Nick Anderson and junior RHP Dustin Lacaze. During the 2018 campaign, Anderson led the squad in steals (14) while ranking fourth in RBIs (35). Lacaze, meanwhile, posted a 2-4 record behind a team second-best 13 starts and 61.2 innings pitched, striking out 54 batters while surrendering just 37 earned runs.

Opponent: UT-Arlington
Series Schedule
Game One: Friday, Feb. 15 at 6:30 p.m.
Game Two: Saturday, Feb. 16 at 4 p.m.
Game Three: Sunday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m.
Game Four: Monday, Feb. 18 at 1 p.m.
Location: Chapman Field | Corpus Christi, Texas
Live Stats: HERE
Live Video (IDN): HERE
Tickets: HERE
 

• Scott Malone enters his 12th season leading Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, sporting a 284-329-2 overall record with the Blue & Green.
• The Islanders 30-win season last year serves as Malone's fourth-best overall finish since taking the helm in 2008.
• The team boasts nine seniors: RHP Chad Romere, RHP Chris Glover, OF Nick Anderson, UT Andriud Martinez, INF Enrique Sanchez Jr., OF Thomas Jeffries IV, RHP Tate Gillespie, LHP Dylan Duarte and LHP Cody LeCompte.
• This year's roster is highlighted by 11 newcomers, as senior Dylan Duarte joined the program as a graduate transfer from Alabama, juniors Scott Hastings, Cole Fluta, Tyler Mendoza, Joey Werner and Mike Williams transferred from junior colleges and freshmen Justin Taylor, Mason Hopkins, Hayden Thomas, Dom Lopez and Steven Vejil signed on directly from high school.
• This season's depth chart features 29 players from across the state of Texas and one from each of the following: California, New Jersey, Minnesota, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.
• The Islanders were picked 11th in the Southland Conference Preseason Poll.
• Texas A&M-Corpus Christi returns nine of last season's 13 starters, including seniors Nick Anderson, Andriud Martinez, Enrique Sanchez Jr., Thomas Jeffries IV and Tate Gillespie along with juniors Itchy Burts, Drake Osborn, Luke Marbach and Dustin Lacaze.

Promotions Scheduled | Friday, Feb. 15 - Monday, Feb. 18 vs. UT-Arlington
 

Friday, Feb. 15 vs. UT-Arlington Chapman Field		3rd Wheel Night Buy two tickets and get a third ticket free! Freebie Friday All fans receive a free team poster!
Saturday, Feb. 16 vs. UT-Arlington Chapman Field		National Almond Day Free bag of almonds for the first 50 fans! Dollar Day Dollar Hot Dogs!
Sunday, Feb. 17 vs. UT-Arlington Chapman Field		Izzy's Kid Club Day All kids receive free admission! Izzy's Kids Club Zone -- for Izzy's Kids Club Members!
Monday, Feb. 18 vs. UT-Arlington Chapman Field		Military Monday All military and families receive free admission to the game!

After wrapping the four-game series against UT-Arlington, the Islanders pack their bags for their first road test, battling UTSA on Tuesday, Feb. 19 in San Antonio, Texas.

For more information on Islanders Baseball, follow the team on Twitter (@IslandersBSB), Instagram (@IslandersBSB) and like their Facebook page (Islanders Baseball).