KINGSVILLE, Texas – For the last time in 2018, the Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team will visit a non-conference opponent with their schedule taking them to San Antonio where the St. Mary's Rattlers await, ready to take on the Javelinas in a doubleheader on Tuesday that will begin at 4 p.m.
The Javs (24-21, 11-13) will be looking to build on the gains they've made outside the Lone Star Conference in 2018. So far, they've gone 13-8 against non-conference foes, a record that includes a sweep of the Rattlers when St. Mary's visited Kingsville on April 6th. Those two wins also broke an 11-game losing streak for TAMUK against their rivals from the Mission City.
This twin bill represents the newest chapter in a series that has been more active than any other the Javelinas have been involved in. St. Mary's and TAMUK have played 91 times since the program's inception in 1997 and while the Rattlers hold a sizable advantage, winning 69 times, coach Craig Nicholson will be hoping to see his team continue the success they had when they scored their first ever doubleheader sweep of St. Mary's earlier in the month.
The team's biggest contributor during that sweep was senior Sarah Gilbert (Chipley, Fla.). She pitched in both games and was spectacular, collecting a save in game one by striking out all four batters she faced in a 6-3 victory. She then went the distance in game two, permitting only a single run on three hits. Gilbert threw another complete game in her last start, defeating Eastern New Mexico with seven innings of three-run ball. Gilbert has moved back into the LSC's top 10 in ERA, lowering her mark to 2.54 and she's totaled the conference's fourth-most strikeouts with 117. One spot behind her in that statistic is teammate and sophomore Breanna Smith (San Antonio, Texas) with 116.
St. Mary's (27-19, 15-7) has maintained their position atop the Heartland Conference all season, mainly due to strong pitching, but a recent swoon has put that standing in jeopardy. The Rattlers have dropped seven straight, including a sweep at the hands of their most recent Heartland opponent, the Newman Jets. Tuesday's games will, however, be their first home matchup in April and they own a home record of 13-5.
Only one pitcher in the Heartland Conference has a lower ERA than Staci Johns's 1.62. Tailee Reding of Rogers State owns a 1.39 ERA, but she's thrown more than 50 fewer innings than Johns. The Elgin, Texas native is also second in the league in wins and strikeouts. Johns did not pitch against the Javelinas when the two squads met for the first time this season. Alex McLennan and Hope Russell were the players in the circle for coach Donna Fields. While both McLennan and Russell were handed losses on that day, they each still own ERAs under three.
The Rattlers greatest strength is perhaps their defensive prowess. They own a fielding percentage of .971, which places them in the top 15 nationally. Abigail Carney and Brenda Iparraguirre remain the team's top threats on offense, with Carney's .319 batting average and Iparraguirre's 38 RBIs representing team-highs.
Kingsville's offense is coming off their two best days of the season. They scored 33 runs in three games against the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds, their highest three game total since 2016. Freshmen Loren Kelly (Rockport, Texas) and Anastasia Leibas (Del Valle, Texas) and junior Roxy Chapa (McAllen, Texas) collected multiple hits in each contest. Kelly total nine hits in 16 at-bats, scored eight runs and stole six bases, Chapa batted .438, driving in seven runs and Leibas also went 9-for-16, racking up eight RBIs. Leibas raised her batting average to .352 and Kelly's BA is up to .350.
Following the final pitch on Tuesday, Javelinaatheltics.com is where you can go for a complete recap. 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.
