WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Rachael Longoria drove in four runs, Loren Kelly totaled five hits and Breanna Smith earned her fourth win in her team's last four games as the Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team swept a doubleheader against the Midwestern State Mustangs on Saturday afternoon in Wichita Falls, Texas at Mustangs Park.
The Javelinas have now won four straight to even their record at 7-7 and they're 2-3 in the Lone Star Conference. Midwestern State has a ledger of 8-3 and 3-2 in LSC action.
GAME ONE
Pitching was the early story in the opener, as neither team could break through in the first three innings. Smith began her day in the circle by recording five strikeouts in the first two frames.
It wasn't until the fourth that the Hoggies broke on top. A walk and a throwing error brought up Longoria with runners on second and third and she took advantage, picking up an RBI with a sacrifice fly. Alexei Gonzalez followed with a run-scoring single, providing Smith with a 2-0 lead.
The Mustangs responded by stealing the lead in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a three-run homer by Amanda Thomas, but Longoria supplied TAMUK's answer in the fifth, crushing a three-run blast over the wall in left-center and putting the Javs back in front by two.
An unearned run in the sixth cut MSU's deficit in half and they threatened again in the seventh, putting two runners on with two outs, but Smith, who would finish with 11 strikeouts, got Misty Muniz to groundout to end the game.
GAME TWO
Starting pitchers Sarah Gilbert and Gracie Bogle kept the offenses in check in game two. Each team pushed across a run in the third, Kingsville on a double by Kelly, Midwestern on a homer by Samantha Loos, but the game stayed tied at 1-1 into extra frames. Gilbert would finish with 10 K's over eight-and-a-third innings.
It wasn't until the 10th inning that Craig Nicholson saw his team move ahead. Roxy Chapa led-off with a single and pinch-runner Sydney Andrews entered the game and immediately stole second. She took third on a flyout before scoring on an error for a 2-1 lead. In the bottom half of the frame, Smith only allowed a two-out walk before clinching TAMUK's second win of the day.
The Javelinas will try and complete a three-game sweep of the Mustangs on Sunday. First pitch time for the final game of the series is 12 p.m. Javelina softball can be found on Twitter @TAMUKSB and fans can also like /JavelinaSports on Facebook and subscribe to the Javelina athletics YouTube channel.
