Islanders Open 2023 Campaign At Home Against UT Arlington

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball is set to open up the 2023 season against UT Arlington at Chapman Field this weekend with a three-game series spanning from Friday to Sunday. Each game is set to begin at 6:30 p.m., 2 p.m., and 1 p.m. with all being streamed on ESPN+.

"I think everything about this series just feels right," said head coach Scott Malone. "It's been really competitive and I feel like the visitors had held serve a lot which is odd in a series. Coach Van Hook is a great guy and was in the finals of the College World Series last year. They'll be good, talented, and well-coached and it will be a fun opener for our guys."

The Islanders and Mavericks have faced each other five out of the last six season openers with A&M-Corpus Christi taking the 2021 series on the road 2-1. This will be the first time the two teams face off under new head coach Clay Van Hook.

Sophomore Zach Garcia is scheduled to throw the first pitch of the season after garnering SLC Preseason All-Conference First-Team honors. Senior Hayden Thomas will follow the performance Saturday afternoon with junior Matthew Watson rounding out the starting rotation.

In addition to Garcia, three others earned SLC Preseason All-Conference recognition, led by Tre Jones (junior) as a designated hitter and Brendan Ryan (senior) In the outfield, Josh Caraway, a junior, earned Second-Team recognition after his 2022 performance.

During the offseason, A&M-Corpus Christi saw three new staff members join the team in assistant coaches Matt Parker and Scott Kelly with Noe Ruiz Jr. coming with Parker as a volunteer coach. the team is seeing 23 new faces on the squad to open up the new journey.

"I think we're going to have six returners in our batting order," continued Malone. "I think if those guys can stay on an even keel and give us confident at-bats on a consistent basis, we're going to be offensive."

Key returners to the lineup mentioned above include Ryan and senior Cole Modgling in the outfield, Jones as a designated hitter, Caraway who switched positions to catch this season as well as senior Max Puls at first base.  Senior Leo Markotic and junior Diego Johnson both look to play second and third base respectively.

The Islanders ended the 2022 campaign in the Southland Conference Tournament where they opened up with a 6-5 victory over second-seeded Southeastern, the eventual SLC champions. The team faced New Orleans before a rematch against the Lions.

Tickets are available for sale at the following links for the weekend.
Friday | Saturday | Sunday

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