LAKE CHARLES, La. – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi softball team will remain on the road, heading to play McNeese in a three-game conference series Friday and Saturday at Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond.
Game one will be played under the lights on Friday with a 6 p.m. first pitch. Saturday will feature a doubleheader of games two and three, beginning at 1 p.m. All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The Islanders (21-18, 9-9 SLC) are staying in Louisiana a bit longer after playing at Northwestern State last weekend. They dropped the first two to the Lady Demons but salvaged the series in game three with a 5-1 win.
A&M-Corpus Christi has won two conferences series this year, sweeping A&M-Commerce and edging Lamar 2-1. A&M-Corpus Christi has won game three of every conference series this year.
The Islanders have not possessed a losing record for more than a day this year with the 21-18 record. They also got to winning record in conference play (8-7) for the first time after winning the series over Lamar but are back to .500 with a 9-9 SLC record.
Junior
Primrose Aholelei has been the ace of the Islanders pitching, throwing complete games in each of her last 10 appearances. Three of those have been shutouts as Aholelei has pitched each of A&M-Corpus Christi's six shutout victories this year.
Aholelei leads the Southland in IP (161.2), wins (16), and batters struck out (140), while rankings second in ERA (1.78) and fourth in opposing batting average (.219). Aholelei was the first pitcher in the league to pitch at least 100 innings this year and second to reach at least 100 strikeouts. In the national rankings, she is ranked 15th in shutouts (6), 20th in innings pitched, 27th in victories, and 47th in strikeouts.
Also in the conference's top-10 is
Monee Montilla (first in fielding) and
Sydney Hoyt (sixth in fielding). Montilla is one of just three qualified fielders in the conference to maintain a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
The Islanders currently have seven batters hitting above .250 and ten above .200. Last year, they only had two hit above .250. Senior
Gabriella Torres leads it with a .317 as the only player to hit above .300., also leading the team in slugging at .476.
McNeese (35-14, 15-3 SLC) is coming off a midweek conference series against Southeastern where the Cowgirls dropped it 1-2. It was their first conference series loss of the season but remains at the top of the conference standings with series sweeps over Lamar, UIW, A&M-Commerce, and Nicholls. The Cowgirls have also garnered wins over #12 Washington and #15 LSU.
The Islanders will be going for their first win over the Cowgirls since the 2011 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
