TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI (17-24, 5-7) VS. LAMAR (29-6, 8-1)
What: Southland Conference three-game series
When: Friday-Saturday, April 19-21
Where: Chapman Field, Corpus Christi, Texas
Times: 6 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. Saturday; 1 p.m. Sunday
TV: ESPN+, with Steven King on the call
Live Stats: t.ly/Sqv7j
All-time series: Lamar leads 16-33.
Preseason predictions: TAMU-CC was picked to finish sixth in the conference; Lamar was picked to finish second.
2024 Standings
| SCHOOL |
SLC |
PCT. |
OVERALL |
HOME |
AWAY |
NEUTRAL |
STREAK |
| Lamar |
8-1 |
.889 |
29-6 |
17-2 |
7-4 |
5-0 |
W6 |
| New Orleans |
6-3 |
.667 |
21-15 |
16-7 |
5-7 |
0-1 |
L1 |
| Nicholls |
7-5 |
.583 |
24-14 |
16-7 |
7-7 |
1-0 |
L1 |
| UIW |
5-4 |
.556 |
20-15 |
13-5 |
7-10 |
0-0 |
L1 |
| Northwestern State |
6-6 |
.500 |
14-23 |
7-11 |
5-10 |
2-2 |
W1 |
| HCU |
6-6 |
.500 |
13-22 |
9-8 |
4-13 |
0-1 |
L2 |
| A&M-Corpus Christi |
5-7 |
.417 |
17-24 |
8-14 |
7-9 |
2-1 |
L1 |
| Southeastern |
3-9 |
.250 |
19-19 |
13-9 |
5-9 |
1-1 |
L9 |
| McNeese |
2-7 |
.222 |
17-18 |
14-8 |
3-10 |
0-0 |
W1 |
Probable Pitching Matchups
Game 1 – TAMU-CC RHP
Matthew Watson (1-4, 4.31) vs. Lamar RHP Brooks Caple (5-3, 2.10)
Game 2 – TAMU-CC RHP
Riely Hunsaker (4-3, 6.02) vs. Lamar LHP Jacob Ellis (6-0, 3.31)
Game 3 – TAMU-CC LHP
Zach Garcia (3-0, 4.17) vs. Lamar LHP Hunter Hesseltine (4-0, 3.02)
Leading Off: A&M-Corpus Christi dropped a 4-2 decision to UTSA on Tuesday in a non-conference midweek game in San Antonio. The Islanders gave up three unearned runs in the third inning which proved to be the difference. ... TAMU-CC trailed 4-0 before trying to mount a comeback in the eighth inning.
Sebastian Trinidad and
Garrett Gruell each drove in a run, but that was all the Islanders could muster. … The Islanders won their last Southland Conference game, beating HCU last Sunday in the final of their three-game series 13-12. … TAMU-CC gave up a 9-4 lead and actually trailed 12-9 in the eighth inning before scoring four times to reclaim the lead and the win. … Lamar has won five straight SLC games and six straight overall. The Cardinals have not lost since falling to McNeese, 4-2, on April 5. … Lamar is coming off a three-game sweep of Southeastern by a combined score of 20-6. The Cardinals beat the Lions 2-1, 10-3 and 8-2.
Tale of the Tape – Southland Conference rank is in ( )
| Islanders |
Offense |
Cardinals |
| .277 (5th) |
Batting Average |
.279 (4th) |
| 228 (5th) |
Runs |
221 (6th) |
| 63 (4th) |
Doubles |
61 (5th) |
| 13 (T3rd) |
Triples |
6 (7th) |
| 19 (9th) |
Home Runs |
32 (6th) |
| .383 (9th) |
Slugging % |
.420 (6th) |
| 153 (7th) |
Walks |
167 (4th) |
| 316 (7th) |
Strikeouts |
218 (1st) |
| .358 (6th) |
On-Base % |
.379 (4th) |
| Islanders |
Pitching/Defense |
Cardinals |
| 6.17 (6th) |
ERA |
3.27 (1st) |
| 396 (9th) |
Hits Allowed |
235 (1st) |
| 293 (9th) |
Runs Allowed |
129 (1st) |
| 174 (7th) |
Walks Allowed |
121 (1st) |
| 309 (2nd) |
Strikeouts |
285 (4th) |
| .282 (5th) |
Batting Avg. Against |
.208 (1st) |
| 57 (9th) |
Errors |
27 (1st) |
| .962 (8th) |
Fielding % |
.979 (1st) |
| 32 (1st) |
Double Plays |
21 (T5th) |
The Matchup: The Islanders and Cardinals have split the past eight games, with TAMU-CC winning 2-of-3 last year and winning 2-of-4 in 2021. The teams played just once in 2022 when Lamar was briefly part of the WAC. … The game in 2022 was the only meeting at Chapman Field between the teams since 2019. Ten out of the past 11 games between the teams have been played in Beaumont. … Prior to TAMU-CC winning both ends of a doubleheader in 2021, the Cardinals had beaten the Islanders 13 straight times and 15 of 16. … It has been a decade since the Islanders have beaten the Cardinals at home. TAMU-CC beat Lamar in doubleheader 2-1 and 5-2 in 2014 but have since lost the past seven times to Lamar at Chapman Field. … The teams are virtually the same offensively. Lamar is hitting .279 as a team, TAMU-CC is hitting .277. The Islanders have scored 228 runs, the Cardinals 221. TAMU-CC has 63 doubles, Lamar 61. Lamar has drawn 167 walks, TAMU-CC 153. … The lone big gap offensively between the teams is strikeouts. Lamar has struck out the fewest times of anyone in the SLC with 218, while TAMU-CC has nearly 100 more strikeouts (316). … Last year, the Islanders took the opener of a three-game set 4-3 behind seven solid innings from
Matthew Watson. Watson, who likely will get the start in Game 1 again Friday, allowed just two runs (one earned) on just four hits, three walks, three hit-batters and a couple of strikeouts. … Lamar's Brooks Caple, who likely will get the start Friday as well, took a no-decision after giving up one unearned run on just two hits with six strikeouts in six innings. … The Islanders won the finale of the series last year as well, 7-5 in 11 innings.
Zach Garcia, the likely starter in Game 3 this Sunday, came on in relief with two on and no outs and trailing 4-1 in the fourth inning. Garcia was magnificent, allowing just one run on five hits, two walks with five strikeouts over seven innings. He was pulled in the 11th inning after the Islanders scored twice to take a 7-5 lead. … Current Islanders
Christian Smith-Johnson was 3-for-5 in the game with four runs scored,
Chance Reisdorph was 1-or-6 with the game-winning RBI, and Trinidad walked three times and had a sacrifice bunt.
Eyeing the Islanders: TAMU-CC picked up two double plays against UTSA, giving the Islanders an SLC-best 32 double plays on the season. They are tied for 22nd nationally. … Second baseman Issac Webb is tied for 10th nationally in hits with 60. He currently is on a 10-game hitting streak – which is one away from his season high. He's only gone hitless in five games all season. … The last time Webb went without a hit was March 26 against Texas. He has raised his average from .333 to .359 during that span. …
Cole Modgling went 3-for-4 against UTSA on Tuesday, marking the third time this year he's had a three-hit game. He currently is on a five-game hitting streak in which he's raised his average from .268 to .303. … Webb, Gruell and Trinidad have combined for 48 multi-hit games, with Webb and Trinidad each posting a pair of four-hit games. … The trio are all in the top 10 in the conference in hits, with Webb second (60), Trinidad fifth (50) and Gruell seventh (47). … Webb is also tied for fourth in the SLC in triples with three, while Gruell is tied for fourth in home runs with eight. … Webb also leads the conference in stolen bases with 14, while
Drake Kerr is fourth with 10. … Trinidad has reached base in seven consecutive games. … The Islanders collected 18 hits Sunday against HCU, just one shy of their season high of 19 (set against UIW on March 24). It was the fourth time this season TAMU-CC has scored at least 13 runs, and the four total doubles hit tied a season high accomplished three other times. … Every TAMU-CC starter but one had a hit in the 13-12 win, and four different Islanders had at least three hits – Trinidad (3-for-5),
Logan Vaughan (3-for-5), Smith-Johnson (3-for-4) and
Mason Persons (3-for-4).
Stephen Hom and Modgling each had a pair of hits, and Webb and Kerr each added a single. … Watson and Garcia both are in the conference top 10 in a number of categories. Watson is eighth in ERA (4.31), seventh in opposing batting average (.230), seventh in innings pitched (48), third in strikeouts (61), eighth in hits allowed (43), ninth in fewest doubles allowed (8) and fourth in fewest home runs allowed (3). … Garcia has the best ERA on the team (4.17), which is good for seventh in the SLC. He's also second in innings pitched (54), seventh in strikeouts (49) and third in fewest walks allowed (13). … The other weekend starter for TAMU-CC,
Riely Hunsaker, is fifth in innings pitched with 49.1, while
Maddox Thornton is second in the conference in saves with five.
Say What? TAMU-CC second baseman Issac Webb: "The biggest thing for me is just staying within myself and not doing too much. We are prepared as a team and the coaches do a great job with that. I know they have a good plan lined up for us and we are excited."
TAMU-CC third baseman
Sebastian Trinidad: "They have a pretty good staff over at Lamar, and they've done a tremendous job this year. We just have to come ready to execute the plan that will be put in place for us and ensure we capitalize on every mistake they make. We can get it done; we've shown that we have what it takes. We just have to come ready early and get our best swing off every time."
TAMU-CC coach
Scott Malone: "I thought UTSA threw some really talented arms, some really high-end arms, and again, it's a big challenge for our guys. That's exactly what we're gonna see from Lamar, several talented arms. It's gonna be a tough weekend. We're gonna have to play better than we've been playing."
Scouting Lamar: Since the beginning of March, the Cardinals are 24-2. They are off to their best start since 1979. … The Cardinals are ranked in three different polls this week: College Baseball nation (No. 24), Baseball America Top 25 (No. 24) and Perfect Game Top 25 (No. 25). It's Lamar's first appearance in the Baseball America poll since 1995. … Lamar had the nation's longest winning streak at one point this season – 13 games – and two days after it ended with a 6-4 loss at Houston, the Cardinals went back on the road and swept No. 25 Oklahoma in Norman, Ok. … The Cardinals are led by one of the best pitching staffs in the nation. Lamar leads the SLC in nearly every significant pitching category are ranked third nationally in ERA (3.27), third nationally in WHIP (1.14), fourth nationally in hits allowed per nine innings (6.80), tied for eighth nationally in shutouts and 22nd nationally in walks per nine innings. … The Cardinals also have the best defense in the conference, as they're first in errors with just 27 and fielding percentage (.979, 21st nationally). … Also, their .829 winning percentage is tied for the seventh-best mark in the country. … Senior pitcher Brooks Caple was named the SLC Pitcher of the Week this week after tossing 6.1 innings of scoreless ball with no runs on three hits and 10 strikeouts in a win over Southeastern. It was the fourth time this year a Lamar pitcher has received the honor and the second time Caple has been recognized. … Lamar's weekend rotation of Caple, Jacob Ellis and Hunter Hesseltine have combined to go 15-3 with a 2.81 ERA and 132 strikeouts. … Caple leads the way with a 5-3 record and 2.10 ERA. Ellis, the Day 2 starter, is 6-0 with a 3.31 ERA, while Hesseltine is 4-0 with a 3.02 ERA. All three are in the SLC's top 10 in nearly every significant pitching category. … Austin Neal leads the SLC in saves with six. He's also 2-0 with a 1.99 ERA and 31 strikeouts in just 22.2 innings pitched. … Fellow reliever Andres Perez is tied for third in the conference with four saves. He's also 2-0 with a 0.92 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 19.2 innings. … Jackson Cleveland is tied for sixth in saves with three. He's 3-0 with a 3.62 ERA. … The Cardinals have four shutouts this year and have allowed three or fewer runs 24 times. … Lamar has allowed double-digit runs just three times: a 13-2 loss to No. 1 Texas A&M, an 11-5 loss to Baylor and a 12-10 win over Oklahoma. … Outfielder River Orsak leads the Cardinals in batting average (.348), home runs (8), RBIs (34), runs (31), hits (46), extra-base hits (15), walks (22), slugging percentage (.591), on-base percentage (.446) and OPS (1.037).
TAMUCC (17-24, 5-7 SLC)
Friday, April 19 – vs. Lamar (29-6, 8-1), 6 p.m., Chapman Field, Corpus Christi
Saturday, April 20 – vs. Lamar (29-6, 8-1), 2 p.m., Chapman Field, Corpus Christi
Sunday, April 21 – vs. Lamar (29-6, 8-1), 1 p.m., Chapman Field, Corpus Christi
On Deck: Following the series with Lamar, the Islanders will play a midweek game at Prairie View A&M at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24, followed by a three-game SLC series at New Orleans. The teams will play at 6:30 p.m., Friday, April 26, at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 27 and at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 28.
Home again: The Islanders will return home on Friday, May 3 to begin a three-game conference series with McNeese at Chapman Field. The teams will play at 6 p.m. Friday, May 3, at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 4 and at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 5.
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