HOUSTON, Texas – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball sets its sights on Houston for the program's first appearance at the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic, where they are set to face No. 13 TCU (March 5), Rice (March 6), and No. 10 Texas Tech (March 7) at Minute Maid Park.
The Islanders open the all-Texas tournament Friday afternoon for a 3 p.m. first pitch against No. 13 TCU before a pair of 11 a.m. tilts versus Rice and No. 10 Texas Tech wrap up a competitive slate.
All nine games of the tournament will be televised by AT&T SportsNet SW and streamed on Astros.com, MLB.com, the AT&T SportsNet app and the MLB app. AT&T SportsNet SW is available in the Astros five-state viewing area. Fans are asked to check local listings for more information.
This year's field is unique to the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic and marks just the fourth time for the tournament to host all Texas programs, also in 2001, 2014 and 2019.
Islander Notes
- This is the Islanders' first program appearance at the prestigious Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic.
- A&M-Corpus Christi fell to No. 19 Texas 12-1 in the midweek, as the Longhorns touched up six Islanders hurlers for 15 hits and the visiting club scratched out a run thanks to a Leo Markotic fielder's choice that helped bring Burts round the bases.
- The Islanders claimed the series opener against Houston in the Kleberg Bank College Classic, using seven innings of scoreless ball and a combined 10 strikeouts combined with a decisive two-run third to take a 3-1 victory and hand the Cougars their first setback of the spring.
- Pitchers Leo Perez and Daniel Nelson combined for eight of the Islanders' 10 strikeouts against the Cougars as pair kept the opposition scoreless through 7.2 innings in the opener win.
- A&M-Corpus Christi kept it close in the series finale, holding a two-run advantage in the eighth but Houston responded by scoring in the final three innings to send it to extras and deliver the final blow in a 4-3, 10-inning heartbreaker.
- Hayden Thomas turned in an impressive finale performance on the mound, tossing seven scoreless frames and fanning 12 batters in his second start.
- Josh Caraway launched his third homer of the season in Sunday's matinee, with his total being good for a team-high.
- Through the opening two series, Leo Markotic tops the hits column with eight for the Islanders, racking up four in the home series against Houston.
- In their first series of 2021, A&M-Corpus Christi's pitching contingent held the Chippewas to 23 scoreless frames over the three-game set, led by starter Henry Bird's 5.0 innings of hitless and scoreless ball that saw him fan four batters in a 5-1 rout in the mound victory.
- A&M-Corpus Christi head coach Scott Malone is in his 14th season at the helm of the Islanders and boasts a career record of 322-363-2 and 167-198-2 in Southland play.
- Luke Marbach collected Southland Hitter of the Week honors on Feb. 23 after belting five hits that included two doubles and a long ball that helped drive home four runs.
Scouting the Opponent
- No. 13 TCU makes its ninth appearance in the tournament and carries a 5-2 record into Friday's afternoon contest, sweeping the previous week in a midweek against Texas Southern and weekend series versus Liberty.
- Rice enters the tournament with a 3-4 record after being swept at Louisiana, where they were outscored by a 18-9 margin. The Owls began the season 2-1 after claiming the weekend series against Southland foe Houston Baptist,
- No. 10 Texas Tech is 5-3 coming into the weekend, with all three of their losses against top-10 ranked opponents Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State at the College Baseball Showdown. The Red Raiders quickly righted the ship and ride a five-game win stretch that has seen them outscore opponents 66-8. Jace Jung has been a dominating force with a .464 batting average alongside 13 hits and 5 homers.
Series History
- TCU – TCU lead series 7-0. Last meeting: TCU 7, AMCC 4 (2/22/14)
- Rice – Rice lead series 15-0. Last meeting: Rice 2, AMCC 0 (5/6/15)
- Texas Tech – Texas Tech leads series 13-3. Last meeting: TTU 9, AMCC 7 (3/15/11)
Stay Social
For more information on Islanders Baseball, follow the team on Twitter (
@IslandersBSB), Instagram (
@IslandersBSB) and like their Facebook page (
Islanders Baseball).
#ShakasUp
