SAN ANTONIO – The St. Mary's Rattlers took both ends of a doubleheader from the Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team on Tuesday evening by scores of 3-2 and 9-1 in San Antonio.
The Javelinas' record is now at 24-23. St. Mary's improves to 29-19.
GAME ONE
Both teams were kept off the scoreboard until the third, when junior Roxy Chapa (McAllen, Texas) sent a long fly to left that sailed over the wall for a two-run homer. Chapa's 10th long ball of 2018 staked senior Sarah Gilbert (Chipley, Fla.) to a 2-0 lead.
Through four innings, the Javelina starter permitted only three singles and a walk before the Rattlers got on the board in the fifth. A one out single by Taylor Germain was followed two batters later by an RBI double from Kristal Salinas.
One inning later, St. Mary's loaded the bases on a walk and two singles before Alessandra Ortiz's sacrifice fly sent Angie Camacho across with the tying run.
From there, sophomore Breanna Smith (14-13) (San Antonio, Texas) and Alex McLennan (3-7) locked in a duel that lasted for five scoreless frames. It wasn't until the 12th inning, when, with two runners on, Hannah Michel lined a double into left-center, that St. Mary's broke the stalemate and picked up the win.
GAME TWO
The Rattler offense staked the home side to a sizable lead with a first inning rally against Carla Torres (0-1). Two-run homers by Salinas and Marcela Vasquez made the score 4-0. Six batters later, with the bases loaded, an error scored two more and Salinas drove home the final two runs with a single.
Hope Russell (11-6) threw all five innings for St. Mary's, allowing three hits and walking three. TAMUK tallied one in the second when senior Rachael Longoria (Hutto, Texas) came home on a groundout. The run that ended the game scored in the bottom of the fifth on an Abigail Carney double.
The final homestand of the season for the Javelinas, one that will include Senior Day, will take place on Friday and Saturday, when the team welcomes the West Texas Lady Buffs to Kingsville. 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.
