PORTALES, N.M. – Eight different Javelinas either scored or drove in a run and the Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team rang up 22 runs in a doubleheader sweep of the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds by scores of 8-3 and 14-4 at Greyhound Field on Saturday in Portales, N.M.
A pair of wins bump Kingsville's record to 24-21 and they've also improved to 11-13 in the Lone Star Conference. The Greyhounds slip to 18-29 and 9-18.
In game one, freshman Anastasia Leibas (Del Valle, Texas) and junior Roxy Chapa (McAllen, Texas) each picked up multiple hits and multiple RBIs. Freshman Loren Kelly (Rockport, Texas) and senior Haley Boyett (Waco, Texas) also chipped in with two hits each.
The second game saw Leibas and Kelly both chalk up four hits. Kelly scored four times while Leibas drove in four and touched home thrice. Chapa contributed three more safeties and drove in three while scoring twice and freshman Claire Chernosky (Sugar Land, Texas) singled three times while earning a pair of RBIs.
GAME ONE
The Javs scored twice in the first, second, fourth and sixth to build an insurmountable lead.
Kelly lit the spark against Kimberly Herron (2-7) with a lead-off single and a stolen base. A knock by Leibas plated her fellow freshman and, two batters later, an error allowed TAMUK's designated player to score the game's second run.
An error and another Kelly hit put two runners on in the second for Chapa, who singled in Kingsville's third run. The visitors' lead grew to 4-0 thanks to Leibas's second hit, another single that tallied Kelly.
In the fourth, Chapa connected for her ninth homer of the season, a two-run clout that made the score 6-0. In the sixth, it was junior Victoria Schoonard-Saborio's (Elk Grove, Calif.) turn. She smashed a two-run homer to left that put the score at 8-0.
Meanwhile, in the circle, senior Sarah Gilbert (10-8) (Chipley, Fla.) was on point. She retired 15 of the first 16 batters she faced and the Greyhounds didn't pick their first hit until the sixth. Later in that inning a two-run single by Jennifer McElroy got ENMU on the board and they scored once more in the ninth, but it was all cosmetic as Gilbert capped the win with her fifth strikeout of the day.
GAME TWO
The Javelinas set season-highs in runs and hits in a rout of the Greyhounds as five TAMUK student-athletes picked up multiple hits.
For the second straight contest, Kelly led-off with an infield hit that essentially became a double when she stole second. What followed was a walk to Schoonard-Saborio and a run-scoring double by Chapa. Leibas then laced another two-bagger into the gap and this one dented home plate with two more runs. With two outs in the frame, Leibas scored on a passed ball for a 4-0 advantage.
Coach Craig Nicholson's offense went to work again in the second, knocking starting pitcher Kiana Zerr (3-3) from the game, with another Kelly single starting the stanza. Chapa's RBI double put TAMUK's lead at five and it grew to six when the catcher scored on a fielder's choice. The Greyhounds got on the board with their first run in the bottom of the second off Breanna Smith (14-12), but that was quickly matched by the Javelinas in the top of the third.
Kingsville scored three more times in the fourth, two of them coming a knock by Chernosky to give the visitors a 10-1 lead. Three runs for ENMU and one for TAMUK made the score 11-4 before three more Javelina runs, including a two-run blast by Leibas in the seventh, closed out the scoring.
The final two contests on this seven-game road trip brings the Javs to San Antonio on Tuesday for two games with the St. Mary's Rattlers. The opener is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. 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.
