March 23, 2012

Softball Set For Two-Game Series at UT Arlington

TEXAS A&M - CORPUS CHRISTI (7-13, 3-3 SLC) AT

UT ARLINGTON (10-12, 0-0 SLC) 

Friday, March 23 • 6 p.m. CST | Saturday, March 24 • 2 p.m. CST

Allan Saxe Field • Arlington, Texas

LIVE STATS

Game Notes

CORPUS CHRISTI – The Texas A&M - Corpus Christi softball team will continue Southland Conference action this weekend when they travel to Arlington, Texas to take on UT Arlington in a two-game series. The Islanders and Mavericks will play for the first time this season Friday at 6 p.m. before squaring off on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Allan Saxe Field.

The Islanders sit at 3-3 in conference play after splitting games against UTSA, Northwestern State and Texas State. Texas A&M - Corpus Christi clinched the Southland Conference regular season title last season. The Islanders enter Friday's game with a 7-13 overall record with eight of the losses coming against teams ranked in the Top 25.  The Islanders sit at 2-2 at home and 1-1 on the road in Southland Conference action.
 

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi dropped its first game to Texas State on Monday in 10 innings of play 3-1, before bouncing back to garner a 1-0, 10 inning thriller in the second game. Greta Cecchetti picked up her second conference victory of the season in the circle.

UT Arlington holds a 10-12 record and sits at 0-0 in the conference. Friday's game will mark the 25th meeting between the Islanders and Mavericks.            
 

LAST TIME OUT

The Texas A&M - Corpus Christi softball team battled Texas State Monday in a doubleheader for a combined 20 innings at Chapman Field. In the first game, the Bobcats and Islanders both put one run on the board in the fourth inning and remained scoreless until the 10th frame. Texas State tacked on two runs in the top of the inning to clinch their ninth straight victory, 3-1.

In the second game, the two teams stayed scoreless until the 10th frame when the Islanders took advantage of the international tiebreaker rule to plate Meagan McKinney on a Mickayla Heller fielder's choice to seal the 1-0 victory. With the win, the Islanders snapped the Bobcats nine-game winning streak and moved to 3-3 in conference play.

 

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS

Friday's game will mark the 25th meeting between the two schools with the Islanders and Mavericks evened at 12 games apiece. Last season the two teams played a total of five games with the Islanders garnering the 3-2 advantage.       

UT Arlington has dropped its last eight of nine games, including two against Louisiana Tech in their last two games. UT Arlington holds an overall 10-12 record. The Mavericks are 2-4 at home and will play in their first Southland Conference games this weekend.
 

The Mavericks are led by Sarah Higginbotham's and Kari Karr's .500 batting average. Stephanie Gonzalez leads the team with 21 hits while tallying four home runs and 10 RBIs.

In the circle, UT Arlington is powered by Callie Collins (5-6) and Teri Lyles (5-6). Collins has a 2.94 ERA in 69 innings and leads with 50 strikeouts. Lyles has a 2.96 ERA in 71 innings and has registered 48 strikeouts.
 

SWING BATTER SWING

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi is 6-1 when they out-hit their opponents and 1-10 when their opponent tallies more hits than them. The Islanders are also more successful when they tally between six and nine runs (3-1).

POWERHOUSE

Laura Phillips is hitting .419 to lead the offense with a .452 slugging percentage and .568 on base percentage. The sophomore is second on the team with 13 hits, behind Cassie Carroll's 14 total hits. She is also second on the team with Meagan McKinney with seven RBIs. Phillips leads the team with 12 walks.

STEPPIN' UP

Jamise Jackson has given the Islanders a lift in the designated hitter position. Jackson led the Islanders' bats this weekend against Northwestern State. She gave the Islanders a two-point cushion on Saturday by plating the Islanders third and final run after reaching base on a fielder's choice. The sophomore led the Islanders through the two games with a .500 batting average. She tallied one hit and one run at two at-bats while registering a .500 slugging percentage and a .667 on base percentage.

Against Northwestern State she gave the Islanders a two-run cushion by plating the Islanders third run after reaching base on a fielder's choice. She led the Islanders through the two games with a .500 batting average. She tallied one hit and one run.

 

FRESH FACES

Four out of the top six batting averages for the Islanders belong to freshmen. Mickayla Heller, Katelyn Potts, Cassie Carroll and Karissa Haleman have played a big role in the Islanders' offense.

Haleman is second on the team with a .267 batting average. Right behind her is Heller with a .261 batting average. She has collected 12 hits and 91 putouts behind the plate.         
 

Carroll and Potts are tied for fifth on the team with a .250 batting average. Carroll leads the team with 14 hits and eight RBIs. She has also tallied two doubles and five runs while registering one of the Islanders' six home runs of the season.  

IN THE CIRCLE

Greta Cecchetti (3-3) leads the Islanders in the circle with an ERA of 3.79 in seven appearances and 35.2 innings pitched. She has allowed 28 hits and 16 runs while striking out 35 batters. She picked up her second victory of the season against Texas State. The senior held the Bobcats scoreless through 10 innings of action to propel the Islanders past Texas State 1-0. She struck out six batters, while walking just one.

Prior to that, she clinched her first victory of the season against Nicholls State. She posted a career-high 10 strikeouts in six innings, while limiting Nicholls State to just three hits and one run. She also garnered her first conference victory on Saturday against Northwestern State.
 
Vianca Pesina (1-4) holds a 5.40 ERA in 10 appearances. She has tallied 24 strikeouts in 48.1 innings.
 

Jordan Trujillo dropped her third conference loss of the season in the first game Texas State. She holds a 3-5 record with a 5.72 ERA in 45.2 innings pitched. She leads the Islanders in the circle with 45 strikeouts.     

PRESEASON PICKS

The Islanders were picked to finish second in the Southland Conference, after clinching the regular-season title last season. Texas A&M - Corpus Christi was selected to finish behind defending conference champion Texas State. The Islanders received five first-place votes with 87 points while Texas State received four.             

ALL-SOUTHLAND TEAMS

Senior Hannah Schwarz, returns as a First Team selection for the second straight year after starting 58 of the Islanders 59 games last season. Senior Vianca Pesina returns as a Second Team selection after going 12-5 in the circle with a 2.26 ERA last season, which was sixth best in the conference.

UP NEXT

After Saturday's game, the Islanders will return home to host Houston Baptist in a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday, March 27. First pitch is at 2 p.m. at Chapman Field.