Softball 4/3/2009 12:00:00 AM

Hoggies Split with Pioneers

Melissa St. Clair went 3-for-3 with two doubles in a win on Friday

KINGSVILLE, TEXAS – The Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team almost started hitting too late on Friday, but their bats came alive in the second game of a doubleheader with visiting Texas Woman’s University to earn a split. The Pioneers (22-20, 4-7) won the first game 4-0 and the Javelinas (24-17, 6-8) won the second game 5-4. (Game 1, Game 2)

In the first game, Carly Case dominated the Javelinas for the majority of the game. She allowed just four hits and no walks while striking out three batters to earn the victory in the circle for the Pioneers.

On offense, the Pioneers scored an unearned run in the second inning. They pushed across another run in the fourth thanks to an RBI double from April Mandel. In the sixth inning, the first two TWU batters were retired and then Mandel hit a home run, Lyndsey Lipscomb doubled and then Amber Brooks drove her in with a single. Mandel finished the game 3-for-3 with two runs, two RBI’s and only needed a triple to hit for the cycle.

The Javs put runners in scoring position in the fourth and fifth innings, but were unable to come up with the big hit to score. Courtney Rigamonti (Victoria/St. Joseph HS) was tagged with the loss after allowing eight hits, three earned runs and no walks while striking out nine in seven innings of work.

In the second game, each team sent out the same starting pitcher. The Javelinas finally touched up Case in the bottom of the second inning when Melissa St. Clair (Garden City, KS/Garden City HS) and Yvette Berlanga (San Antonio/O’Connor HS) hit back-to-back doubles to take a 1-0 lead.

TWU responded with a three-run third inning. Tiffanie Boone opened the inning with a triple. She would score on Erin Hinojosa’s two-run single, the big hit of the inning. They tacked on another run in the fourth inning when Boone scored on a double by Kayla Behrle.

The Javelinas took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. St. Clair led off with her second double of the game. After one out, the team put together four straight hits including a two-run triple by Kaycee Bryan (Splendora/Splendora HS) to tie the game and an RBI double by Cassie Anderson (Splendora/Splendora HS) to take a 5-4 lead.

Rigamonti mowed the Pioneers down in the fifth and sixth innings and got the first two batters out in the seventh before she ran into some trouble. Billie Callahan and Brooks each singled to put runners at first and third, but then Rigamonti induced Hinojosa to ground out to third to end the game.

The win gave Rigamonti her 20th victory of the season allowing her to become just the fourth player in school history to accomplish the feat. She allowed eight hits, four runs and two walks while striking out six.
St. Clair led the Hoggie offense with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate with two doubles, her best game of the season. Jasmine Ross (Camilla, GA/Camilla HS) also went 3-for-3 with a run, an RBI and a stolen base. The team had 11 hits, including five doubles in the game.

Hinojosa and Boone each had two hits for the Pioneers. Case was handed the loss after allowing 11 hits and five runs while striking out three in five innings of work.

The two teams will meet again on Saturday for one game at noon. Children will get in free to the game if they are with one paying adult thanks to the Take A Kid to the Game program.
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