KINGSVILLE, Texas (Baseball) – The dominance on the rubber continued for
Preston Plovanich as the freshman southpaw retired 20 in order after giving up back-to-back hits to begin the game en route to a No. t-22 Texas A&M University-Kingsville (21-8, 12-5 LSC) 3-0 victory over No. 17/11 West Texas A&M University (23-8, 12-5 LSC) Friday evening at Nolan Ryan Field. He finished with four strikeouts in 8.1 innings and has not allowed an earned run in 24.2 innings.
With the victory, the Javelinas and Buffaloes moved into a two-way tie for first place in the Lone Star Conference standings.
Reigning LSC Hitter of the Week
Pablo Hernandez finished 1-for-3 with two runs. Plovanich improved to 3-0 on the year after the three-hitter and
Hunter Lehman picked up his second save of the season with two strikeouts. Brooks Trujillo (5-3) allowed three runs – two earned – in 8.0 innings.
The Javelinas took a 2-0 lead with two runs in the second as
Jimmy Roche and Hernandez, who singled and walked, respectively, scored after advancing on wild pitches. Roche came around to score on
Miles Holcomb's sacrifice fly and
Christian Caudle followed with a double to bring in Hernandez as Texas A&M-Kingsville closed out the second frame with a two-run edge.
Hernandez led off the seventh with a single and after advancing on Holcomb's sacrifice bunt and
Alex Gonzalez's single,
Zach Smith made it a 3-0 ballgame in favor of Texas A&M-Kingsville with an RBI base knock.
The series continues tomorrow with a double dip beginning at 1 p.m. Live stats will be available and can be accessed by visiting JavelinaAthletics.com.
Be sure to follow the six-time Lone Star Conference championships on Twitter (
@JavelinaBSB) and Instagram (
@JavelinaBSB), and like the
/JavelinaSports Facebook page.
