KINGSVILLE, Texas – With just seven games under their belt in the 2018 season, the Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team will pop the cork on this year's conference schedule and they start off with a matchup against the country's No. 2 team, the Angelo State Rambelles, facing them at 6 p.m. on Friday and in a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. at Vernie and Blanche Hubert Field in Kingsville, Texas.
The Javelinas began the season by winning their first three games at the Texas A&M International Tourney, but they've since lost four straight, including a tough defeat at the hands of No. 10 Southern Arkansas in which the Hoggies let a late 3-0 lead get away. That setback at the hands of the Muleriders was TAMUK's first game of what was supposed to be six at the North Texas Softball Bash in Mesquite, but the Javs only ended up playing two of those contests, with the remaining four being called off due to weather.
Ileana Aleman and Roxy Chapa have been swinging the hottest bats for the Javelinas so far in this young season. Aleman leads the team with a BA of .400 and Chapa isn't far behind at .385 and she also leads the Javs with a slugging percentage of .654, a pair of homers and seven RBIs. Haley Boyett has played the role of table setter thus far, combining a .368 average with a .520 on-base percentage. Her five walks, five runs and two steals all put her at the top of TAMUK's leaderboard. In the circle, Sarah Gilbert and Breanna Smith each own ERA's under three and will be attempting to bounce back from losses in their last start.
Angelo State entered the season as the squad picked win the Lone Star Conference in the league's preseason poll. They took home the conference's regular season title in 2017 with a record of 26-3 and ended the season at the national runner-up, falling to Minnesota State in the National Championship Series.
The Rams brought back four of the key pieces from their postseason run a year ago, including All-American pitcher Brandy Marlett and coach Travis Scott's bunch has picked up right where they left off in 2017, starting this year 10-1. The one blemish on their record is a 3-1 loss to No. 8 Colorado Mesa in ASU's second game of the season.
The Rambelles currently own the Lone Star Conference's best ERA at 1.47 and redshirt-freshman Morgan Hill has already established herself as one of the conference's top hurlers. In seven games, she's made six starts and compiled a 6-1 record to go with a 0.88 ERA. Marlett, meanwhile, has started her senior season 3-0 and owns an ERA of 1.83. At the dish, three Rambelles are hitting .400 or better, led by Karina Rocha's .435 and Rocha is also tied for the LSC lead with five homers and 16 RBIs. One of the student-athletes she's tied with in RBIs is her teammate Taegen Kirk.
Angelo State has won nine straight against the Javelinas, sweeping TAMUK in 2015, 2016 and 2017, adding to a lead in the all-time series that currently stands at 46 wins compared to 12 losses. The Hoggies will be trying to score their first series victory against ASU since 2006, when Jake Schumann was heading up the program and the Javelinas took three out of four from the Rambelles at Hubert Field.
Each game will be broadcast through Javelinaathletics.com with live video available and will be followed by a complete recap posted on the site. Javelina softball can be found on Twitter @TAMUKSB and fans can also like /JavelinaSports on Facebook and subscribe to the Javelina athletics YouTube channel.
