Softball | 4/2/2015 2:25:00 PM

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KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team (13-14, 5-7) rides into Canyon, Texas on a six-game winning streak and with an upset on their mind against No. 2 and the defending national champions West Texas A&M (29-6, 13-3 LSC). The four-game set begins with a doubleheader on Friday at 5 p.m. and concludes with Saturday's twinbill at 1 p.m. at Schaeffer Park.
 
All-Time Series vs. WT
The Lady Buffs hold a 17-14 advantage over the Javelinas in the all-time series. WT has won nine straight and 16 of the last 18. The first nine games all went in favor of the Blue and Gold. TAMUK's last win in the series came on March 16, 2012 at home by the score of 5-2 while their last victory in Canyon, Texas was a 14-12 slugfest on March 22, 2010.
 
Scouting Texas A&M-Kingsville
Following her 9-for-16 performance at the plate against Eastern New Mexico, Loren Donaldson raised her batting average to a team leading .390. She is also one of three players with double-digit RBI figures this season, having driven in 13. Valerie Ramirez paces TAMUK in home runs (3) and RBI (15). Also with more than 10 RBI is Jaeleen Castro with 13.
 
Haley Boyett is 11-for-13 this season when stealing bases and has drawn a team high 13 walks. Ramirez is second for the Blue and Gold with three steals while Rachael Longoria, Stephanie Lugo and Castro have all swiped two bags apiece.
 
Carlie Clark goes into the weekend with a staff-low 3.81 ERA in 53.1 innings of work and paces the squad with 41 strikeouts. She is 5-3 with six complete games and two shutouts. Karri Smith has won five games as well but has suffered seven losses. Her 10 complete games are the fourth most in the Lone Star Conference. Rounding out the pitching staff is Bella Rosas, who is 3-4 with a 5.19 ERA and 24 strikeouts.
 
Scouting West Texas A&M
Lacey Taylor paces WT with a .441 batting average. She has also hit seven home runs, driven in 39 and scored 33 times. Allie Smith is hitting .426 with a team-high 11 doubles and has recorded 39 RBI. Also hitting over .400 is the league's preseason player of the year Renee Erwin at .415. She comes in leading the Lady Buffs with 14 homers, 46 RBI and 49 runs.
 
Kaisha Dacosin has smashed seven dingers, plated 39, scored 37 times and is hitting .344. Six home runs have also been hit by Ashley Hardin. Stacey Ramirez comes into the weekend with a team best 12 stolen bases while Tyler Wilkinson is a perfect 11-for-11 on the season.
 
Rita Hokianga, the LSC's preseason pitcher of the year, is 12-4 with three saves, a 3.15 ERA and team-high 79 strikeouts in 75.2 innings. She has tossed three complete games and been a part of four of the team's five shutouts. Hannah Newcomb enters the series with a 7-1 record, 2.50 ERA and 30 strikeouts. Leading the squad with four saves is Tori Bayer. She is also 6-1 with a 2.09 ERA in 53.2 innings and has struck out 27. Kilee Halbert (4-0) comes in with a staff-low 1.85 ERA in eight relief appearances and three starts.
 
Clark Named LSC Pitcher of the Week
With her performance last week on the rubber, Clark was named the Lone Star Conference's Pitcher of the Week. She went 3-0 with a 0.67 ERA, 13 strikeouts, three complete games and one shutout. It is the first weekly conference award for the sophomore.
 
Sweep of Zias
Texas A&M-Kingsville entered into the hunt for a spot in the LSC Tournament with a sweep of Eastern New Mexico. It was the first time the Javelinas took every game in a series in conference play since March 12-13, 2010. That series also took place at Hubert Field against the Zias.
 
Home Sweet Home Part 1
The Javelinas love to play games at Hubert Field. This season they are 11-1 after sweeping the four-game series from ENMU. TAMUK is batting .370 and averaging 5.7 runs a game. On the rubber, Javelina pitchers have combined for a 2.36 ERA, 65 strikeouts and a .275 opponents' batting average.
 
Home Sweet Home Part 2
Clark has dominated in the circle at Hubert Field in 2015. In six starts, she is 5-0 with five complete games, two shutouts, a 1.41 ERA and 38 strikeouts.
 
K-Town
Clark has been a strikeout machine at home this season. Of her 41 strikeouts, 38 of them have come in the circle at Hubert Field. In the season opener against Texas A&M International, she struck out eight. She followed with nine versus Huston-Tillotson, including the first three batters of the game on the minimum nine pitches, and another eight against Texas A&M-Commerce.
 
Castro Plunked Mark
Back on March 13 in the second game of the day at Cameron, Castro was hit by a pitch to reach base. With that plunk, she was hit for the 23rd time in her career to move into sole possession of first place on the school's all-time list. The previous record holder was Kenna Gipson who played for the Javelinas in the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
 
Winning February
Texas A&M-Kingsville completed February with a 6-5 record. It was the first time they have finished the first month of the season with a winning record since 2009 when they went 14-6. The 2012 Javelinas came close, going 8-8 in the first month of the season.
 
Bombs Away
TAMUK blasted four homers in the final game of the Southeastern Regional Invitational against Southwestern Oklahoma State. The home run total is the most by the Javelinas in a game since also hitting four at Eastern New Mexico on March 25, 2011.
 
Live stats and a free video stream will be available for the entire series. Links can be found on the softball schedule page.
 
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