Islanders Fall in Opening Two Games of Aggie Classic

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi softball team fell in its opening two games of the 2022 season to WKU 6-5 and Texas A&M 9-1 on day one of the Texas A&M Aggie Classic at Davis Diamond.

The two matchups marked the debut of first-year head coach Kathleen Rodriguez.

The Islanders (0-2) saw a tight matchup with WKU (1-1) in game one. After the Hilltoppers scored three in the second, junior Pal Egan responded with a two-run home run to score her and sophomore Gabriella Torres who doubled to left field earlier to get on base. Egan also tabbed two RBIs for the day.

A&M-Corpus Christi went silent for three innings until freshman Paolina Baez singled to left field and advanced to second base on an error to bring Torres in for her second run of the game. 

Transfer Grace Gilbert followed up Baez as a pinch hitter and doubled to score Baez and junior Madison Garza to tie the game 5-5 going into the bottom of the seventh. Despite the late comeback, WKU ultimately won by a walk-off homerun.

The mound saw five Islanders between the two games. Junior Beatriz Lara opened the day and pitched for the longest at 4.2 innings. She pitched two scoreless innings and recorded two strikeouts. Sophomore Megan Depew recorded the lowest ERA of the day at 5.25 and didn't walk a single hitter. 

Gilbert proved herself a two-way athlete on the day. She was the chosen pitcher to start against Texas A&M (2-0) and stayed at the mound for 3.1 innings before switching to the outfield. Sixth in the batting order, Gilbert scored the only run the Islanders put up against the Aggies in the fifth inning and pulled in a total of two RBIs. The Islander defense held up Texas A&M to only one run through three innings before the game got away from them in the fourth.

A&M-Corpus Christi will continue tournament play at 10 a.m. Saturday against UTA and then rematch WKU that night at 5:30 p.m. The Islanders will conclude on Sunday after a 12:30 p.m. game versus the Aggies.  

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For more information on Islanders Softball, keep up with the team via their Facebook page (Islanders Softball) and follow the program on Twitter (@IslandersSball) and Instagram (islanderssball). 
 
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