Kingsville – The Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelina softball team lost their first doubleheader of the season at home, dropping a pair to Tarleton State in a Lone Star Conference South Division showdown.
Tarleton State scored three unearned runs in the sixth to beat the Javelinas in game one 3-2 and exploded for five runs in the third to complete the sweep with an 8-3 victory in the nightcap.
The losses dropped the Javelinas to 28-16 overall and 11-7 in the Lone Star Conference while Tarleton State improved to 31-12 and 11-7 in the LSC to pull into a tie for second place in the South Division.
Nora Aguilar pitched a solid three-hitter in the opener, but an error, two walks and a pair of two out hits resulted in three runs in the top of the sixth in game one, erasing a Javelina 2-0 lead.
A&M-Kingsville got both of their runs in the third as Cassie Anderson led off the inning with a single, Megan Hall walked and with two outs, Quesha Torres tripled to center to drive in both runs.
In game two, the TexAnns broke open the game by scoring five runs in the third, four of them coming after two outs.
The Javelina offense had plenty of chances to score in game two, but left 12 runners stranded.
The Javelinas scored three runs in the fifth on just one hit, taking advantage of three walks, an error and a hit batsman.
In the bottom of the seventh, Anderson doubled with the bases loaded to score two runs and cut the deficit to 8-5, but game one starter Brooke Saulters, who won her 22nd game of the season in the opener, got the last out to earn her second save of the season.
The two teams will wrap-up their four-game series with a Saturday afternoon doubleheader at 1:00 p.m. It will be the final home game of the season for Texas A&M-Kingsville.
