CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball announces its final schedule for the 2018 season, opening play on the road against the University of Texas-Arlington on February 16th.
The Blue and Green are slated to play four power-five schools in the coming campaign, including a pair of contests against in-state rivals Texas and Texas A&M inside of Whataburger Field on March 27th and April 3rd respectively. This will be the third year in a row the Islanders have played both the Horns and the Aggies in the same year, and marks two of five contests the side will play inside of the Corpus Christi Hooks’ home park during 2018.
The Islanders’ February is highlighted by matchups with Nicholls, UC-Santa Barbara and Mississippi State in the annual Kleburg Bank College Classic, to be played from February 23rd to 25th at Whataburger. While the Gauchos are just two years removed from an appearance in the College World Series, the Islanders face a Bulldogs squad that reached Super Regionals the previous season and finished second in SEC play during 2017.
The Blue and Green open March with a stream of home contests against Utah Valley State and UTSA before taking a trip to Norman, Oklahoma for a four game series with the Oklahoma Sooners. With a 2017 regional appearance, OU is starting its first year under previous pitching coach, and former Texas Associate Head Coach Skip Johnson, after taking third in the Big 12 conference standings.
The Islanders will have 18 games under their belt before starting Southland Conference play against Sam Houston on March 16th. The Bearkats come to Chapman for a three-game weekend series in mid-March, as Corpus Christi looks to get back into the SLC Tournament for the sixth time in the previous eight years.
After beating UTRGV for seven of the last nine meetings, the Blue and Green will look to continue its recent dominance in the South Texas Showdown presented by NavyArmy Community Credit Union, with a home-and-home series against the rival Vaqueros. The Islanders make the trip to Edinburg for leg one of the series on February 20th before facing UTRGV at home at Chapman field on March 20th.
Head Coach Scott Malone takes his 11th season at the reigns of the Islanders’ baseball club in 2018, looking to return the team to the three-year streak of 25-plus wins it experienced from 2013-15. With a wealth of both youth and experience throughout the Islanders lineup, and the return of pitching ace Aaron Hernandez, Corpus Christi is staged to be one of the top-rising teams in the conference, and a challenge for all opponents scheduled in the approaching campaign.
2018 Texas A&M Corpus Christi Schedule
