JACKSON, Miss. – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi softball team will commence its 2024 season this weekend in the River City Classic Friday through Sunday before extending its trip to face Louisiana Tech Monday.
The weekend tournament, hosted by Jackson State, will open for the Islanders on Friday at 4 p.m. against Arlington Baptist followed by a 6 p.m. matchup against Grambling. Saturday will have A&M-Corpus Christi pitted against the host team at 4 p.m. before closing out the weekend with an 11 a.m. first-pitch with Zavier.
On their way back, the Islanders will make a stop at Louisiana Tech for a 6 p.m. game on Monday night.
The Islanders are coming off another year of success, as Rodriguez led the program to its first winning season since 2011 after finishing the regular season with a 23-22 overall record. The Islanders have posted back-to-back 20+ win seasons and made consecutive SLC tournament appearances. Before Rodriguez's arrival in 2022, the program had not appeared in that tournament since 2015 and had not win in it since 2012.
This season, the Islanders will look to their ace returner, senior
Primrose Aholelei. She was the 2023 SLC Pitcher and Newcomer of the Year after transferring in to lead the conference in innings pitched (183.2), total strikeouts (159), batters struck out looking (43), and wins (18). In addition, she finished second in ERA at 1.83 and fourth in opposing batting average at .228.
She was tabbed to the preseason All-Conference First Team while fellow senior
Sydney Hoyt was tabbed to the Second Team. Last season, she pitched for the first time since 2021 and became a vital two-way player for the Islanders. She made six starts in the circle with 14 appearances to post a 3.75 ERA, striking out 32 on the year and ranking third in conference in saves at three. At the plate, she turned in a .287 batting average to lead the team with 31 RBIs, 35 hits, and four home runs.
With that experience comes a refreshed feel to the team as the Islanders brought on 11 newcomers to this year's roster. The newcomer class makes up eight freshman and four transfers. It is the third year in a row that the Islanders softball roster will feature at least 10 newcomers.
Hoping to continue the build up of Islanders softball, the team will look to match last year's success, starting after they posted the best start to a season since 2005 with two wins on opening day. The Islanders will be going for their eighth season-opening win since the program began in 2000.
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
