FRISCO, Texas – Ahead of the 2024 Southland Conference baseball tournament, the league released the All-Conference Teams Tuesday and the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball team saw three honorees between the First and Second teams.
Junior
Isaac Webb earned a spot on the First Team at second base following his debut year with the Islanders, while senior
Sebastian Trinidad (third base) and junior
Matthew Watson (starting pitcher) saw their names grace the Second Team.
It is the fourth year in a row that the Islanders had at least three All-Conference honorees. Webb is the first second baseman in program history to be selected to the First Team.
"Awards day is always one of the best days of the year," said head coach
Scott Malone. "So many players on the team put in so much time from the fall, over the winter, and then into the spring to try and put together a great season. I think the best thing about these three players is they would tell you they would trade their award to see this team get hot and win a conference tournament. It's going to be a great weekend to see how well our team can play."
Webb, from Collinsville, Arkansas, quickly settled into the Islanders' lineup after spending the last two years at the University of Arkansas. He emerged as a consistent lead-off and became one of the top tier hitters in the Southland Conference, ranking top-10 in batting average (.343), hits (80), and stolen bases (19), all while recording the most at-bats among league batters (233). In SLC play, he powered up his bat a bit more to rank top-10 in doubles (8), triples (2), and home runs (8).
"Isaac is one of the three or four most talented players in the conference. He spent the first half of the season at shortstop and then the second half at second base and he handled the transition without a problem and continued to be one of the more dangerous leadoff hitters in the entire league," said Malone.
Trinidad, out of Ponce, Puerto Rico, has blossomed in his senior season, rising up in the lineup to turn in over a .300 batting average (.328) for the majority of the year. In conference play, he finds himself in the top-10 for hitting percentage (.347), on-base percentage (.423), and hits (33). He leads the lead overall in sacrifice bunts at seven and third in sacrifice flies at six, leading the team in both. Trinidad was also honored as an SLC Hitter of the Week on March 11.
"Sebastian is the best since I've been coaching after his two years at HCU. He has had an incredible senior season which is something I wish for every player would get to experience. He put the work in and became one of the best defenders at third base in our league as well as one of the better hitters. Sebastian's biggest hits have come in the biggest spots for the team this year, and he's been a big part of our success," Malone said.
Watson, a native of Rogers, Arkansas, was a familiar face in the weekend rotation for the Islanders as the RHP took over the Friday night spot early in the year. Through his 11 starts, he has pitched 63.1 innings for a conference's top-10 ERA of a 3.69 and opposing batting average of a .217. He has struck out a team-high of 72, ranking fifth in the league, including 18 of those going down looking which ranks seventh in the SLC. He recorded three wins on the mound this year over Southeastern, New Orleans, and UTSA.
"Matt took the ball for us every Friday and went out like a warrior and pitched 110, 115 pitches every time. He kept us in every Friday game and have us such a great chance to win," said Malone.
The Islanders will enter the postseason as the No. 7 seed in the conference tournament, slated to take on No. 2 Nicholls first in a 4 p.m. matchup Wednesday at Pat Kenelly Diamond.
Click here to view the full SLC All-Conference teams.
Click here to view the tournament page.
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