Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Islanders will jump in deep end of baseball pool

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Wednesday, September 29, 1999

Islanders will jump in deep end of baseball pool

By Mark Zuckerman
Caller-Times

From its inception, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi athletic department insisted it would strive to be a first-class program in every aspect.
   Based on the school's inaugural season baseball schedule, announced Tuesday, it appears the Islanders are making good on that promise.
   A&M-Corpus Christi will face three national powerhouses in its first season as a Division I independent. The team's home opener at Cabaniss Field on February 16 pits the Islanders against tradition-rich Arizona.
   Coach Hector Salinas' team will get another taste of big-time college baseball when he leads his squad to road games against a pair of 1999 College World Series participants: Texas A&M (February 29) and Rice (March 19).
   "I think Hector has done a really good job putting together a schedule for a first-year program," said athletics director Dan Viola. "The most difficult thing is to just get them to come to Corpus Christi, and we were able to do that."
   Salinas' biggest accomplishment may have been attracting Arizona to Cabaniss for what should be a festive atmosphere at A&M-Corpus Christi's first-ever home game.
   "I think it's going to be packed," Salinas said. "What's better than to open against a school like Arizona? A lot of people I know can't wait."
   The Islanders begin the season February 5 with a doubleheader at Prairie View A&M. Along the way, they will face two Big 12 teams in Texas A&M and Kansas, plus a host of schools from throughout the southwest, including national-power Rice, Texas-Pan American, Centenary, Incarnate Word, St. Edwards and St. Mary's.
   The Islanders' 52-game schedule features an even 26 home and road games, with all but two home games at Cabaniss. An April 18 doubleheader against Nicholls State will be played at Robstown High School due to scheduling conflicts at Cabaniss.
   The first-year schedule has gone over well with the Islanders' players.
   "I really wasn't quite sure what to expect," said junior second baseman Ryan Spaeny. "But I had an idea it could be like this."
   Viola said the A&M-Corpus Christi softball team will release its inaugural season schedule within the next two or three weeks, and the university will announce season ticket packages for both baseball and softball by the end of November.

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