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CANYON, Texas (Baseball) – The final series of the 2016 regular season awaits the Javelinas and No. 18/22 Texas A&M University-Kingsville (32-14, 22-10 LSC) heads to Wilder Park for a three-game series versus West Texas A&M University (32-15, 20-12 LSC) May 6-7.
 
Friday's single game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. with a doubleheader set to begin at 1 p.m. Saturday. Live stats and video will be available for all three games and can be accessed by visiting JavelinaAthletics.com.
 
In the Polls
Texas A&M-Kingsville moved up a spot to No. 2 in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional rankings, released Wednesday. The top six teams in the region at the conclusion of conference championships will advance to regional play assuming the Lone Star Conference, Heartland Conference and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament champions are in the top six. The tournament champions receive an automatic berth into the regional tourney.
 
The Buffs are No. 6 in the SC Region as of Wednesday.
 
In the national polls, the Javelinas are No. 16 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association rankings, moving up from No. 26, and the Hogs are No. 22 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll.
 
Last Time they Met
The Javelinas took three of four from the then No. 17/11 Buffs at Nolan Ryan Field earlier this season. In the series opener, Preston Plovanich went 8.1 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits to improve to 3-0 and Hunter Lehman earned his second save of the season after striking out two of the three batters he faced. TAMUK's offense scored nine runs in each of the final two games of the series.
 
About the Javelinas
Dalton Perry is the lone hitter in the Lone Star Conference over the .400 clip as the senior is batting .415 with 14 doubles, five home runs, 34 RBI and eight stolen bases. Jimmy Roche is hitting .322 with four triples and 24 RBI and Hayden Vesely is at .320 with 14 doubles, six triples, 40 RBI and eight stolen bases. Pablo Hernandez is hitting .316 with seven home runs and 33 RBI and Hunter Perkins is 17-of-56 with two home runs. Christian Caudle (.299), Ruben Almaguer (.296, 13 doubles and 40 RBI), Zach Smith (.285, 15 RBI and 13 stolen bases) and Wesley Aguilar (.283) round out the order. Almaguer and Vesely lead the league with the 40 RBI and Hernandez is tied for the league lead with seven home runs.
 
On the mound, Lance Elling is 3-1 with a 1.88 ERA and five saves. In 24.0 innings, the right-hander has 33 strikeouts and is limiting opponents to a .163 average. Jako Kelm is 4-2 with a 2.73 ERA in 18 appearances out of the 'pen and Trey Taylor (2-1, 3.34 ERA) and Hunter Lehman (3-1, 4.07 ERA) have combined for six saves. Plovanich is 6-1 with a 2.93 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 61.1 innings, Vesely is 4-2 with a 2.82 ERA and 50 punchouts in 44.2 innings. The right-hander has tossed a complete game and has two saves.
 
The series pits the conference's top two hitting teams as the Buffaloes are No. 1 in the LSC in batting average with a .301 average in conference play and the Javelinas are hitting .299.
 
In conference play, Perry is batting a league-best .463 with nine doubles and 25 RBI. Vesely's 12 doubles and Hernandez's five home runs are also leading the conference and Smith's 11 swipes are tied for the conference lead.
 
Scouting WT
Trace Hansen lead West Texas A&M with a .377 clip, 13 doubles and 18 stolen bases. Christian Loya follows with six home runs, 23 RBI and .359 and three others are over .300. On the mound, Austin Moore is 8-2 with a 2.10 ERA and five complete games. The right-hander has 99 strikeouts in 77.0 innings and Brooks Trujillo is 7-4 with a 3.23 ERA. Kyle Tinius leads the conference with 13 saves.
 
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