EDINBURG, Texas – Coming off a tough home stretch, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi will seek its first road win of the year when it plays UTRGV in the first of three head to heads for the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union.
The South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union, is an annual rivalry series in which the institutions compete against each other in 12 sports. A&M-Corpus Christi leads the all-time series 5-2 and is leading this year's competition 30.5 to 17.5.
It will be the first of three meetings this year between the teams, with the last one being used as a tiebreaker in the Showdown if needed. This year, that will be held in Corpus Christi after the team's play their usual home-and-away series.
Last year, the Islanders (3-8) defeated the Vaqueros on their home field, taking a 5-4 decision in Edinburg. Returners
Chance Reisdorph and
Jose Enriquez played essential roles in that victory, each scoring one of the vital runs to help edge UTRGV.
"UTRGV has turned into an exciting rivalry over the last five to 10 years," said head coach
Scott Malone. "It's always a big deal when we play down in the Valley in any sport, and it'll be a big Wednesday night game for our guys. I know UTRGV will have a large home crowd. They have a very good team and it's always a tough trip for us, but I am excited about our starter,
Evans Hendricks. He's got great stuff and I'm sure he'll give us a chance to win."
Hendricks is coming off a fiery start against Texas Southern last week where the first six retired came on strikeouts, five of which went down swinging. He didn't even concede a base hit until the bottom of the fifth as the lefty ended with 10 total Ks to garner his first win on the mound this year. The 10 strikeouts matched his career best.
He will look for similar success on the mound against the Vaqueros as well as his offense backing him up. The Islanders had a tough homestand but haven't had an issue reaching base. They rank #3 overall in the NCAA for total hits with 105, just 10 behind the nation's leader.
Junior
Isaac Webb leads the Islanders will 19 hits and a .396 batting average. He has notched a hit in every game this season, being just one of three to start all 10 games along with juniors
Drake Kerr and Garret Gruell. They are all batting near or above .350.
In the NCAA, the Islanders also rank #4 overall in turning double plays with 10 which also leads the SLC.
The Islanders lead the Vaqueros 36-25 in the all-time series, dating back to 2007. They have won three of the last five meetings but will look to avenge a loss in the most recent meeting after UTRGV won at the end of last year.
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