TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI (20-16, 8-10) VS. McNEESE (33-16, 17-1)
What: Southland Conference three-game series
When: Friday-Saturday, April 26-27
Where: Chapman Field, Corpus Christi, Texas
Times: Noon p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. Friday; Noon Saturday
TV: ESPN+ with Steven King on the call
Live Stats: t.ly/sq_vc
All-time series: McNeese leads 16-42.
Preseason predictions: TAMU-CC was picked to finish fifth in the conference; McNeese was picked to finish first.
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2024 Standings
| SCHOOL |
SLC |
PCT. |
OVERALL |
HOME |
AWAY |
NEUTRAL |
STREAK |
| McNeese |
17-1 |
.944 |
33-16 |
21-8 |
10-6 |
2-2 |
L1 |
| Southeastern |
14-4 |
.778 |
39-10 |
15-3 |
13-6 |
11-1 |
W2 |
| UIW |
12-6 |
.667 |
28-13 |
17-3 |
6-9 |
5-1 |
L2 |
| Nicholls |
12-6 |
.667 |
25-21 |
9-7 |
7-12 |
9-2 |
W2 |
| Lamar |
12-9 |
.571 |
26-20 |
13-8 |
8-7 |
5-5 |
W1 |
| A&M-Corpus Christi |
8-10 |
.444 |
20-16 |
8-4 |
3-11 |
9-1 |
L2 |
| HCU |
4-14 |
.222 |
17-24 |
9-9 |
5-13 |
3-2 |
L4 |
| Northwestern State |
4-14 |
.222 |
17-27 |
5-8 |
3-14 |
9-5 |
W3 |
| A&M-Commerce |
1-20 |
.048 |
8-43 |
7-27 |
1-14 |
0-2 |
L2 |
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Probable Pitching Matchups
Game 1 – TAMU-CC RHP
Primrose Aholelei (14-8, 2.16) vs. McNeese RHP Shaelyn Sanders (16-8, 1.93)
Game 2 – TAMU-CC RHP
Ariella Saenz (2-4, 5.35) vs. McNeese RHP Alexis Dibbley (4-1, 3.19)
Game 3 – TAMU-CC RHP
Primrose Aholelei (14-8, 2.16) vs. McNeese RHP Shaelyn Sanders (16-8, 1.93)
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Leading Off: A&M-Corpus Christi had the conference bye week last week. The Islanders last played two weeks ago against Lamar in Beaumont. The Islanders won the opener 4-2 behind seven strong innings from
Primrose Aholelei. The senior ace allowed just four hits and struck out 12 while throwing 134 pitches. … The offense collected seven hits, with 1-2-3 hitters
Alina Jasso,
Paolina Baez and
Taniece Tyson each going 2-for-4. … Tyson had the big hit with a two-run double in the sixth. Baez and
Kimane Rogron drove in the other two runs. … The Islanders lost the other games of the series 5-1 and 2-1. TAMU-CC lost the finale on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh inning. … McNeese is coming off a 5-4 loss to No. 19 UL-Lafayette on Wednesday. … Prior to that, McNeese swept Houston Christian in Lake Charles, La. The Cowgirls needed just five innings to win the opener 8-0, then won the doubleheader the next day 6-3 and 5-4 in nine innings. It was McNeese's closest SLC game since a 4-3 win over UIW on March 22.
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Tale of the Tape – Southland Conference rank is in ( )
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| Islanders |
Offense |
Cowgirls |
| .266 (5th) |
Batting Average |
.283 (3rd) |
| 134 (8th) |
Runs |
239 (3rd) |
| 61 (3rd) |
Doubles |
78 (1st) |
| 4 (T8th) |
Triples |
14 (2nd) |
| 11 (7th) |
Home Runs |
32 (1st) |
| .375 (5th) |
Slugging % |
.448 (2nd) |
| 88 (8th) |
Walks |
157 (1st) |
| 177 (2nd) |
Strikeouts |
195 (7th) |
| .332 (T5th) |
On-Base % |
.374 (3rd) |
| Islanders |
Pitching/Defense |
Cowgirls |
| 2.78 (3rd) |
ERA |
2.46 (2nd) |
| 212 (1st) |
Hits Allowed |
318 (6th) |
| 133 (3rd) |
Runs Allowed |
141 (4th) |
| 115 (6th) |
Walks Allowed |
104 (4th) |
| 232 (1st) |
Strikeouts |
182 (6th) |
| .238 (3rd) |
Batting Avg. Against |
.258 (5th) |
| 41 (2nd) |
Errors |
43 (4th) |
| .959 (T6th) |
Fielding % |
.969 (2nd) |
| 5 (9th) |
Double Plays |
28 (1st) |
The Matchup: The Islanders have had almost no luck against the Cowgirls, with TAMU-CC currently suffering through a 32-game losing streak to McNeese. The Islanders have not beaten the Cowgirls since May 14, 2011, and they haven't won at home since April 23, 2011. … The Islanders have gotten close to ending the streak recently, falling at home 3-2 in nine innings in 2021 and 5-4 in 10 innings at home in 2022. The teams played four times last season, all in Lake Charles, with two of the games decided by just one run. The Cowgirls won the opener of the regular-season series 4-3, then beat the Islanders 2-1 in a winner's bracket game at the SLC tournament on a walk-off RBI double. … Aholelei took the loss by allowing five hits and six walks, but she matched those numbers with 11 strikeouts. It was the fifth time she had double-digit strikeouts last season. … McNeese also walked off on an RBI double in the 4-3 regular-season win. It also came with one out in the seventh. … TAMU-CC had a 3-0 lead in the sixth before McNeese scored three unearned runs in the sixth to tie it and then won it in the seventh. …
Sidney Campion,
Monee Montilla,
Crystal Davila and Baez all had hits against McNeese last season. Campion went 4-for-7 in the four games – including a 3-for-3 performance during a 5-2 loss.
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Eyeing the Islanders: Despite having the week off, the TAMU-CC pitching staff still leads the conference in strikeouts with 232. Aholelei has 166 of those, which is still 45 more than her next closest competitor. She also has 123 strikeouts swinging, which also would lead the conference in total strikeouts. … Aholelei allowed just three earned runs in 13.1 innings over two games against Lamar, lowering her ERA to 2.16. She also struck out 17 in the two games, including 12 in the 4-2 victory in the opener. … Aholelei is 20 strikeouts away from her total from last season, which is the fifth-most during a season in school history. …
Ariella Saenz got the start in the second half of the doubleheader against Lamar and had one of the best starts of her career. Despite the 5-1 loss, she allowed just two earned runs and struck out a career-high five batters during her second-career complete game. …
Taniece Tyson had one of three TAMU-CC doubles over the weekend and drove in a team-high two runs. She's currently 10th in the conference with a .343 batting average, seventh in slugging percentage (.707), seventh in OPS (1.000) and fourth in home runs (6). … Primrose, Tyson, Saenz,
Sydney Hoyt,
Alina Jasso,
Kimane Rogron,
Nicolette Ramirez and
Felixia Hinojosa all will participate in Senior Day festivities following the series finale on Saturday.
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Say What? A&M-Corpus Christi coach
Kathleen Rodriguez: "We need to come with an alter ego, a chip on our shoulder, play with something to prove and a reason to play. Once we become that team, take on that identity, we will be tough to beat."
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Scouting McNeese: McNeese was on a 10-game winning streak before losing 5-4 to No. 19 UL-Lafayette on Wednesday. … Of McNeese's 16 losses, nine have come against ranked teams – 3-2 to No 24 Baylor, 8-1 and 3-0 to No. 1 Oklahoma, 2-1 and 2-1 to No. 4 LSU, 2-1 and 5-4 to No. 19 UL-Lafayette, and 12-0 and 8-0 to No. 18 Florida State. … The Cowgirls are on a 16-game conference winning streak. They haven't lost since their second conference game, a 1-0 loss to Nicholls in the second game of a doubleheader. … Molly Yoo of Nicholls held McNeese to just two hits. It is one of six times McNeese has been shutout this season, and the two hits were one of three times the Cowgirls have had two or fewer hits. … Freshman Alexis Dibbley leads the team with a .361 batting average, three triples and a .438 on-base percentage. She's also second in doubles (10) and home runs (5), in addition to going 4-1 on the mound with a 3.19 ERA and one save. … Sophomore first baseman Corine Poncho is making a strong bid for conference hitter of the year honors. She's hitting .324 and leads the team in home runs (15, first in SLC), RBIs (33, fifth in SLC), total bases (99), runs (41, third in SLC), slugging percentage (.728, second in SLC), OPS (1.163, third in SLC), walks (27, first in SLC) and is second in stolen bases (13). … Shaelyn Sanders is among the conference leaders in several pitching categories. She's first in wins (16) and innings pitched (156.1), second in strikeouts (121), fourth in saves (2), fifth in ERA (1.93) and ninth in opposing batting average (.232). … McNeese won its third consecutive SLC tournament last season 1-0 on Reese Reyna's walk-off home run in the eighth inning against Southeastern. It was the Cowgirls' ninth overall SLC tournament title. … McNeese became the darling of the NCAA tournament last season, knocking off Minnesota 5-4 and 1-0 in the regional round. McNeese lost to host No. 7 Washington 3-1 but rebounded the next day to beat the Huskies 1-0 on Poncho's solo home run to force a winner-take-all game later in the day. McNeese led 6-0 heading to the seventh inning, but the Huskies scored seven times to win 7-6 and advance to the super regionals.
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TAMUCC (20-16, 8-10 SLC)
Friday, April 26 – vs. McNeese (33-16, 17-1), noon, Chapman Field, Corpus Christi
Friday, April 26 – vs. McNeese (33-16, 17-1), 2 p.m., Chapman Field, Corpus Christi
Saturday, April 27 – vs. McNeese (33-16, 17-1), noon, Chapman Field, Corpus Christi
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On Deck: Following the series with McNeese, the Islanders will play their final two home games of the season against Prairie View A&M on Tuesday, April 30. The teams will play a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
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