STEPHENVILLE, Texas (Baseball) – The first half of Lone Star Conference action concludes this weekend as first place and nationally-ranked Texas A&M University-Kingsville (18-9, 12-3 LSC) heads to Tarleton State University (9-12, 3-8 LSC) for a four-game series at the Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex.
 
The Javelinas jumped to No. 23 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Poll, No. t-24 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper (CBN) rankings and No. 25 in the D2BaseballNews.com Poll after taking its fifth consecutive series, defeating then No. 6 Angelo State University in the first three games of the four-game series. The Hogs are also ranked No. 4 in the region while Tarleton State sits tied for No. 10 with the University of Texas of the Permian Basin.
 
Last Time Out
Ryan Fickel led off with a solo shot – the first of his career – and five Javelina players finished with multiple hits but TAMUK fell to No. 20/RV St. Edward's University, 12-11, on Tuesday.
 
Hayden Vesely went 3-for-5 with four RBI, two runs and two doubles and Christian Caudle reached on all four of his plate appearances from the nine-hole and came across to score three times. Rounding out the 16-hit day for the Javelinas were Cline Andrews (3-for-5 with two RBI), Zach Smith (2-for-6 with two runs) and Blake Johnson (2-for-5 with two RBI) among others.
 
Ryan Scott extended his scoreless streak to 8.0 innings after throwing 3.0 shutout frames in relief.
 
Unfamiliar Territory
The Javelinas are 3-6 away from Nolan Ryan Field but 2-1 in conference contests on the road. In its last two road LSC bouts, Matt Terrones and Hayden James threw shutouts in wins over Cameron University.
 
Pitching Marks the Spot
A team earned run average of 3.89, starters Ryan Benitez (4-1, 2.64 ERA), Hayden James (4-2, 1.83 ERA) and Matt Terrones (5-0, 3.34 ERA) have combined for five complete games and a 13-3 mark, giving the Javelinas one of the best rotations in all of NCAA Division II.
 
Newcomers Making an Impact
First-year players Hayden Vesely and Brayton Carlson ranked No. 1 and No. 2 on the team in batting average, respectively, as the duo is hitting .360 and .344. Overall, five players are over the .300 clip as senior third baseman Cline Andrews (.333, 22 RBI), Zach Smith (.322) and Clint Wallace (.321, 12 RBI) have eclipsed the .300 plateau.
 
Iron Man Behind the Dish
Clint Wallace has been behind the plate for 24 of TAMUK's 27 games this season and is hitting .333 with 22 RBI. The catcher can not only throw out opposing baserunners, he has a set of his own wheels with a team-high six stolen bases (tied with Carlson and Fickel).
 
Wallace has thrown out 50 percent of baserunners (7-of-14) and picked off two runners at first.
 
Speed Kills
The Javelinas are 44-of-55 on the basepaths this season and rank in the top 10 nationally in triples and sacrifice bunts, proving that small ball can win games.
 
Scouting the Texans
Jonathan Schmitz is hitting .473 in 18 games to lead the conference and Kevin Meredith has four of TSU's 11 long balls on the year. On the hill, Hunter Houston has not allowed a run in seven appearances (11.0 innings) out of the bullpen and Ethan Lenz has a 2-0 mark with a 1.63 ERA in eight games. Starter Colton Burleson is 3-1 (2.77 ERA) but opponents are hitting .295 off the Tarleton ace.
 
Projected TSU Rotation
Game One – Matt Herrick (2-2, 6.37 ERA)
Game Two – Colton Burleson
Game Three – Kyle Gottardy (0-4, 6.09 ERA)
Game Four – TBA
 
All-Time Series
The Hogs lead the all-time 52-49 and have won two consecutive games versus the Texans dating back to last season. In Stephenville in 2014, TSU took the series, 2-1, but the Javelinas salvaged the final game, 10-8. TAMUK defeated Tarleton, 8-6, in the NCAA Division II South Central Regionals on May 17.
 
One-Run Games
Texas A&M-Kingsville is 7-3 in one-run games and 16-2 when leading after six innings.
 
Dominating the First
Kingsville has outscored its opponents, 36-to-8, in the opening inning, boasting an 11-5 mark when scoring first.
 
Live stats will be available and can be accessed by visiting the baseball schedule page on JavelinaAthletics.com, the official home of TAMUK athletics.
 
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