KINGSVILLE, Texas – After beginning their season with three wins at the Texas A&M International Tourney, the Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team is getting prepared to play six games in three days at the North Texas Softball Bash in Mesquite Texas.
TAMUK's time in Mesquite begins with two contests on Friday. First, they'll battle No. 10 Southern Arkansas at 11 a.m., followed by a 1:30 p.m. meeting with Lubbock Christian. Saturday will involve a 1:30 p.m. matchup with Oklahoma Baptist and a 3:30 p.m. clash with Newman University. The Hoggies close out the event with two games against Northwestern Oklahoma State on Sunday, with start times of 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.
Craig Nicholson's pitching staff was on point during his team's first five games. Despite taking a loss in her second start, Sarah Gilbert owns a team-best 1.17 ERA. The right-handed hurler began her senior campaign with a complete game victory against TAMIU to lead the Javs to their first win of 2018. Breanna Smith's season has started with a pair of wins, including a W against Oklahoma Christian in which she threw all seven innings while allowing only one run.
At the plate, Ileana Aleman is swinging the hottest bat with seven hits in 14 at-bats putting her average at .500 and she also leads the squad with four RBIs. Haley Boyett and Lauren Oatman are also off to fast starts, with Boyett's average at .417 and her on-base percentage at .588. Along with catcher Roxy Chapa, who hit .333 Laredo, Boyett was named to the all-tournament squad. Oatman has collected four hits in 10 at-bats. Anastasia Leibas stands at the team leader in runs scored with four after hitting .313 Laredo and she drilled one of the three home runs her team hit at the TAMIU Tourney.
TAMUK will be tested immediately in their first game in Mesquite, a battle against undefeated and nationally ranked Southern Arkansas. In their first three games the Muleriders allowed just one run, with two of those coming courtesy of Victoria Rowe, who tossed a pair of shutouts. A year ago, SAU was led by a trio of All-Americans in Maddie Dow, Brooke Goad and Jill Roye as they earned an appearance in the NCAA Central Regional and all three are back on the squad in 2018.
Lubbock Christian's season began with them ranked at the top of the Heartland Conference's preseason poll one year after winning the conference tournament. Part of the season for the Lady Chaparral's preseason ranking was the return of outfielder Sydney Beuthein, an All-American in 2017 after her 21 home runs put her second in the nation. She also placed 13th in Division II with 98 RBIs. LCU has started 2018 4-1 after hosting the Lubbock softball classic. Morgan Dufner and Lindzi Clemmer have combined for seven home runs in just 33 total at-bats for the Lady Chaps.
Saturday's two games pit the Javelinas against Oklahoma Baptist and Newman University. Oklahoma Baptist is off to a 1-3 start after beginning their season in Durant, Okla. at the Southeastern Regional Invitational. The Lady Bison, who posted a record of 28-29 a year ago were picked to finish 11th in the Great American Conference's preseason poll. Newman enters the bash off a 4-1 win over Southeastern Oklahoma State, but that stood as their only victory in five tries at the Southeastern Regional Invitational. The Jets, ranked sixth in the Heartland Conference's preseason poll, are still searching for their first home run of the season. Bailey Bugner leads the team with four RBIs to go with a .385 average.
This weekend will be the first action of 2018 for the NWOSU Rangers. Their 2017 season ended with a record of 18-38 and Jill Webb-Devries is in her first season as head coach. The Rangers are expected to benefit from the return of nine starters, including seniors Madison McGraw and Madison Garza, both of whom were chosen as all-conference honorable mention performers in the GAC.
Live stats for every game will be available through Javelinaathletics.com and after each day in Mesquite, a recap will be published 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.
