CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Having already battled the elements once during the first road trip of the season, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi softball team returned home for the first homestand of the season, only to find a cranky Mother Nature waiting again.
Saturday and Sunday's three game series with Stephen F. Austin, originally scheduled for a pair of noon starts at Chapman Field, now will begin with a doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m. Saturday and a single game beginning at 11 a.m. Sunday. It will be the first games between the old Southland Conference foes since 2021.
"We are looking forward to connecting with our fans again," Islanders coach
Kathleen Rodriguez said. "They were awesome in the fall, and we can't wait to have them see all our practice and strength and conditioning efforts be put into action on the field."
Neither the Islanders (3-2) nor the Lumberjacks (1-4) are strangers to wet weather so far this season. SFA has had two games cancelled because of rain, while A&M-Corpus Christi had a game cancelled in the season-opening River City Classic in Jackson, Miss. It was the culmination of a trying weekend that nonetheless proved that brighter days are ahead.
The trek to Mississippi was a road trip that would have tested the mettle of even the most experienced of teams. But for A&M-Corpus Christi – replete with 11 newcomers, including six freshmen – it was more a revelation than a baptism by fire.
The Islanders faced down last-minute schedule changes, a pair of 15-hour days and Mother Nature to get off to a 3-1 start. The one loss came in extra innings to homestanding Jackson State in a game the Islanders led 7-0 in the seventh inning. After a rainout caused the cancellation of a game with Grambling, A&M-Corpus Christi made a quick stop the next day in Ruston, La., losing to Louisiana Tech 4-1 in the Bulldogs' season opener.
"I'm proud of the effort our women gave all weekend long," Rodriguez said. "We went through some adversity during this first weekend and did it with grace and determination. This adversity and how we chose to respond and not react as a team will serve us well as we move through the 2024 season."
Prior to the loss to the Bulldogs, the Islanders were off to their best start in eight years. After scoring a team-record 17 runs on opening day Friday, A&M-Corpus Christi scored 16 more Saturday to shatter another program record. The 33 total runs are the most by the Islanders over an opening four-game stretch in team history. The 2011 Islanders scored 24 runs in the first four games en route to the most successful softball season in A&M-Corpus Christi history.
"Honestly, it wasn't much of surprise for us to have such an explosive offense," said senior third baseman
Kimane Rogron, who is hitting .316 with a team-leading five RBIs. "We are an aggressive team when coming to bat, and our mindset is to find any way to get on base. We have been working really hard to get to that point, and it is really amazing to see our work pay off so far."
It hasn't been all offense for the Islanders, however. As expected, senior pitcher
Primrose Aholelei has played a big role in the Islanders' early success, striking out 32 batters in just 18 innings to start the season. Aholelei is now seventh on the program's all-time strikeout list, and she needs just 33 more to move into the top three. Aholelei, the 2023 Southland Conference Pitcher and Newcomer of the year, also picked up a win in relief on opening day, giving her 20 career wins and sole possession of seventh place on the program's all-time wins list.
Aholelei hasn't been alone. Sophomore
Malia Williams, a transfer from the University of Hawaii, has picked up two wins in relief, posting a team-best 1.62 ERA in 8.2 innings with 13 strikeouts.
But it's been the work at the plate that has the Islanders thinking of bigger things. The Islanders have gotten production throughout the lineup during their record-breaking start.
Freshman
Isabella Hune has led the way thus far, hitting a team-leading .421 with two doubles and four RBIs exclusively from the 9-hole. She's one of 11 Islanders hitting .300 or better as the team has a red-hot .327 team batting average while averaging nearly seven runs per game. And that's even with a one-hit performance against Louisiana Tech. That one hit, however, was a home run by senior
Taniece Tyson, who's hitting .364 with a team-best .636 slugging percentage.
A couple of veterans, senior leftfielder
Alina Jasso and junior second baseman
Paolina Baez, each are hitting .375, with Jasso tied for the team lead with six runs scored and Baez tied with Rogron for the team lead in RBIs. All told, five players have already posted a multi-hit game, and the Islanders' 13-4 win in the season opener marked just the sixth time in the past decade A&M-Corpus Christi has reached the 13-run mark.
"This is a special group of women that work hard daily and love each other," Rodriguez said. "I look forward to that being highlighted on the field all year."
NOTES
– A&M-Corpus Christi last played at Cabaniss Field in March of 2023 and beat Houston Christian, 5-4. The last series the Islanders played at Cabaniss field was in 2021, also against HCU.S
– The Islanders and Lumberjacks have played 52 times, including 38 times as Southland Conference members. SFA leads the series 31-21.
– SFA has won the past five meetings between the two teams and eight out of the past 10.
– A&M-Corpus Christi's last win against SFA was a 1-0 decision in 2019.
– SFA coach Jeff Jackson is in his first season with the Lumberjacks.
– SFA's only win this season was a 4-3 decision in nine innings against Southland Conference member Northwestern State.
– The Lumberjacks are hitting just .177 in their five games and have been outscored 26-11. They've also been shut out twice.
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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