ABILENE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi softball program will get the 2023 season underway when it travels to compete in the Wildcat Invitational Friday through Sunday at Poly Wells Field, hosted by Abilene Christian.
The Islanders will open its campaign Friday at 10 a.m. against Murray State, followed by a 4 p.m. matchup against host ACU. Saturday will feature another 10 a.m. pitch against Murray State before the Islanders take on UTEP that night at 7 p.m. A&M-Corpus Christi will close out the weekend with a rematch against the Wildcats on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The game against ACU on Friday will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The season will mark head coach
Kathleen Rodriguez's second year at the helm after leading A&M-Corpus Christ to its winningest season since 2011 with 25 wins, first conference tournament appearance since 2015 and first tournament win since 2012 during her first year.
This year will see 10 returners from last year's squad, including Preseason All-Conference Second-Team selections junior
Sydney Hoyt and sophomore
Siarah Galvan who both earned All-Conference Third-Team nods last season.
The roster also features 12 newcomers made up of five freshman and seven transfers, including
Primrose Aholelei, the 2022 JUCO Pitcher of the Year.
A&M-Corpus Christi was picked to finish fourth out of nine in the SLC Preseason Poll. The Islanders won all but one conference series and finished the regular season in third place last year with an 11-7 SLC record, behind only McNeese and Southeastern who both advanced to the 2022 SLC Tournament final.
ACU leads A&M-Corpus Christi 18-4 in the all-time record. It will be the first meeting between the teams since 2021 when the Wildcats edged the Islanders 10-9. A&M-Corpus Christi last beat ACU in 2018 when they won 7-0. It will be the first ever meeting between A&M-Corpus Christi and Murray State.
It will be just the fourth ever meeting between UTEP and the Islanders, where the Miners lead the record 2-1. The Islanders won the first ever meeting 8-0 in 2005 on a neutral field. Head coach
Kathleen Rodriguez coached at UTEP for 10 seasons where she started the program and holds the program record for total wins and wins in a season.
Stay Social
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).
#ShakasUp
