'Horns to play at Whataburger
The Baseball Capital of South Texas and home of the Corpus Christi Hooks plays host to the first of at least 91 games in 2007 this Friday, when Texas A&M-Kingsville entertains St. Mary's at 3 p.m.
Included in Whataburger Field's outstanding 2007 menu: the 71st Texas League All-Star Game, set for June 26.
Highlighting a schedule of 17 March games is the Whataburger College Classic. Texas Tech makes its first appearance in the field, joining Rice, TCU and the Islanders, all returning from last year's inaugural event. The Owls are ranked No. 1 in the nation in preseason polls, and the Horned Frogs stand 15th nationally.
"Last year's tournament was a success with some exciting games, like Arizona State's extra-innings win over Rice," said Hooks president and general manager J.J. Gottsch. "This year's field is again very strong, with the added twist of the Red Raiders. But in addition to the Whataburger College Classic, we're also looking forward to the Longhorns visit just a couple of days ahead of the tournament."
Augie Garrido's crew from the University of Texas travels to Corpus Christi for a 4 p.m. game against the Islanders on Tuesday, March 6. The meeting will be the first between the two schools on the diamond since March 2005, and the first time the Longhorns will play in Corpus Christi. Including the three games they play in the Classic, the Islanders are scheduled for a total of 10 games this season at Whataburger Field.
The baseball season will have an international flair when Alvin Community College plays Technologico de Monterrey of Mexico in a 6:30 p.m. tilt on Friday, Feb. 16. The Dolphins, from Nolan Ryan's hometown, feature a handful of players from South Texas, including Robstown's Matt Flores, Moody's Jason Rodriguez and Bobby Gomez of Falfurrias.
Five regular-season high school games dot the schedule, including a marquee matchup between the Moody Trojans and Calallen Wildcats on Thursday, March 15. The Trojans made it to the State 5A tournament last year and won the 5A title in 2004, while the Wildcats captured the State 4A crown in 2005. Both teams now compete at the 4A level.
The defending Texas League Champion Corpus Christi Hooks begin play at Whataburger Field on Sunday, April 1, in an exhibition game against the Triple-A Round Rock Express. The Hooks' regular-season home opener is slated for Thursday, April 12 at 7:05 p.m. against the Wichita Wranglers.
A signature event this season is the 71st Texas League All-Star Game, scheduled for 7:05 p.m. on Tuesday, June 26. It will mark the first time that the city of Corpus Christi has hosted the game, which has a history dating back to 1936.
In the 70th edition of the game played last year at Ray Winder Field in Little Rock, the South All-Stars defeated the North All-Stars, 1-0, when the Hooks' Josh Anderson plated the game's lone run with a groundout in the third inning. Nine Hooks played for the North, including Anderson, voted the game's MVP, winning pitcher Juan Gutierrez and Jailen Peguero, who collected the save. The result marked the only time in the history of the game the final score was 1-0.
For ticket information on any of the games detailed above, please call (361) 561-HOOK. Specific ticket information for games in the Whataburger College Classic will be released later this month.