CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Nearing the end of the 2023 season, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi softball team will host UIW in the conference finale Friday and Saturday at Chapman Field.
Saturday will also mark the final home game of the year for the Islanders (21-21, 9-12 SLC), who will put on a special senior day recognition to honor four seniors:
Gabriella Torres,
Alexandria Torres,
Shelbie Fickling, and
Quinn De Avila.
The Islanders are coming off a tough two-week road stretch with series at Northwestern State and most recently, McNeese. Against the Cowgirls, the Torres sisters combined for 11 of A&M-Corpus Christi's 20 hits over the series. Gabriella leads the team in batting average (.351) and is now on a 10-game streak of reaching base.
A&M-Corpus Christi will be going for its third conference series win this year after sweeping A&M-Commerce and edging Lamar 2-1. The Islanders have not possessed a losing record for more than a day this year with a 21-21 record and will also be looking to close out the year with the program's first winning record since 2011 (41-19).
In conference play, the Islanders rank second as a team in pitching with a 2.20 ERA and are tied for second with home runs against Southland opponents (9). Overall, junior
Primrose Aholelei leads the league in IP (174.0), wins (16), and batters struck out (151), and ranks third in ERA (1.85), and fourth in opposing batting average (.228).
Aholelei was the first pitcher in the SLC to pitch at least 100 innings this year. She was the second to reach at least 100 strikeouts. In the national rankings
, she ranks 20th in shutouts (6), 18th in IP, 39th in victories, and 44th in strikeouts.
UIW (15-28-1, 7-14 SLC) is fighting for a spot in the SLC Tournament where the top seven teams play, currently eighth in the league. Dariane Cram has led the Cardinals offensively in conference play with a .366 batting average and a league-best .527 on-base percentage.
A&M-Corpus Christi is 12-9 all-time against the Cardinals. It will be the second year in a row that these two teams meet in the final weekend of conference play. The Islanders took last year's series 2-1 in San Antonio.
The Islanders are still fighting for seeding in the SLC Tournament, scheduled for May 9-12 in Lake Charles. They are currently in a three-way tie for fifth with HCU and Lamar heading into this final weekend.
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).
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