FRISCO, Texas – Graduate
Cade Sanchez of the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball team was recognized for his excellent start to the new year on Monday afternoon, as it was announced by the league office that he was named the first Southland Conference Hitter of the Week of the 2026 season.
In the opening act to his third campaign with the Islanders, Sanchez starred in the team's four-game sweep of Stonehill College. Hitting primarily in the middle of the order, the second baseman slashed .538/.647/.769, going 7-13 with three doubles, two walks, two HBPs, seven RBIs and four runs scored while also stealing two bags on the basepaths as well. Sanchez picked up three hits and three RBIs in two separate contests over the weekend, doing so in the season opener on Friday with two doubles and then again in the third game of the set while adding another two-bagger.
"Cade was great for us this weekend," Islanders head coach
Scott Malone said. "He had big extra-base hits and RBI swings for us, and he played an outstanding second base. I knew we had a group of older seniors that would play well and provide us with some offense, and if Cade can keep playing like this, we have a chance to be a very good offensive team in the Southland Conference."
Sanchez proved to be the catalyst for an Islanders lineup that made history out of the gates, scoring 10 or more runs in four straight games to open a season for the first time in program history. It was also the first time that the team won its first four games of a season in 11 years, with the last instance coming when it ripped off five straight victories to kick off the 2015 campaign.
Sanchez and the rest of the team will try to keep things rolling into an important slate of games during the next week, first traveling to College Station on Tuesday for a matchup with #25 Texas A&M before then returning home to take part in the 2026 Kleberg Bank College Classic over the weekend alongside Cal State Bakersfield, Long Beach State and Pittsburgh.
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