KINGSVILLE, Texas – Less than two games separate the Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team from a spot in the 2018 Lone Star Conference tournament and they'll have an opportunity to chip away at that margin when they visit the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds for a three-game series that will begin with a doubleheader on Friday starting at 2 p.m. at Greyhound Field in Portales, N.M. Saturday's game will begin at 1 p.m.
Friday's twin bill was originally scheduled to start at 5 p.m., but, with inclement weather on the horizon, the Greyhounds decided to move the games to the afternoon.
TAMUK's current conference record is 9-12 and they are 22-20 overall. The sixth and final spot in conference postseason play is currently held by the Texas Woman's Pioneers, who are 9-12 in the LSC and will spend the weekend at home against 7-17 Midwestern State. TWU also holds a head-to-head advantage over the Javs, having taken two-of-three from TAMUK when the teams met in March in Denton.
Eastern New Mexico is in even more dire straits when it comes to the conference tournament, as they stand at 8-16 in the LSC. The Greyhounds have also lost eight of 10 with their last series victory coming against UT Permian Basin on March 23rd – 24th.
For each side, getting their lineup going will be a top priority. While the Greyhounds own the conference's lowest batting average at .256, they can claim one of the league's top hitters in senior first baseman Erikka Burke. The native Californian is third in the conference with 15 homers, a .541 on-base percentage and a slugging percentage of .897. A year ago, however, Burke was held to just a single hit in nine at-bats as the Javelinas swept three games from the Greyhounds at Hubert Field.
Kingsville will be looking for continued contributions from the foursome of freshmen Loren Kelly (Rockport, Texas) and Anastasia Leibas (Del Valle, Texas), junior Roxy Chapa (McAllen, Texas) and senior Haley Boyett (Waco, Texas). All four own on-base percentages above .350, led by Leibas's .396. Chapa is atop the team leaderboard with eight homers, 26 RBIs and a .577 slugging percentage. Kelly's combined a .357 OBP with 21 steals, third-most in the LSC. Boyett's racked up 20 walks in 2018, tied for the conference's eighth most and she leads the Javs with 23 runs scored.
TAMUK will also be hoping to rely on a pitching staff that sits in the top five in conference with an earned run average of 2.70. Sophomore Breanna Smith (San Antonio, Texas) has held the opposition without an earned run in three of her last four outings, two of which were complete games. Her last time out, she shutout St. Edward's without passing out a walk and she hurled 12 innings against Cameron on March 29th. When the Javs swept a doubleheader with St. Mary's on April 6th, senior Sarah Gilbert (Chipley, Fla.) was the star of the show, saving game one and winning game two. Over those two outings, she totaled 8 1-3 innings pitched while allowing one earned run on three hits, walking none and striking out nine.
Right-hander Leslie Reyes enters this series after tossing her seventh complete game of the year, letting in only two runs in a win over Oklahoma Christian. Through her first 11 games, Reyes owned an ERA of 3.37, but that's risen to 5.13 and Reyes's record stands at 8-11. Reyes is the only Greyhound pitcher who's thrown multiple innings and held opponents to a batting average under .300.
The Javelinas will be attempting to continue a streak of 10 straight wins over ENMU that dates back to 2015. In four of those victories, the Javelinas have scored in double figures, with their largest offensive output coming in a 19-17 slugfest in 2016. In that contest, Kingsville set a new team-record with six homers, including two from Chapa. In the overall series, the Javelinas own a sizable, 54-24 edge.
At the conclusion of each game in Portales, visit Javelinathletics.com for a recap of all the action. To keep up with the Javelinas all season long, visit Javelinaathletics.com, follow @TAMUKSB on Twitter, like /JavelinaSports on Facebook and subscribe to the Javelina athletics YouTube channel.
