KINGSVILLE, Texas – Senior Sarah Gilbert (Chipley, Fla.) picked up a save and a win in leading the Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team to a doubleheader sweep of the St. Mary's Rattlers on Friday night by scores of 6-3 and 3-0 at Hubert Field in Kingsville, Texas.
These two wins push TAMUK above .500 to 21-19. While the Rattlers remain perched atop the Heartland Conference, their overall record drops to 27-16.
GAME ONE
The first two runs of the night were scored by the Rattlers. They got on the board when Brenda Iparraguirre drove a two-run double into the right field corner, but starter Breanna Smith (12-11) (San Antonio, Texas) quickly shrugged off her early jitters. Over the next four frames, she held the visitors scoreless while TAMUK's offense went to work.
In the bottom of the second, an error, a walk and a single loaded the based for the Javelinas and with one out, senior Haley Boyett (Waco, Texas) drew another walk off Alex McLennan (2-5), forcing in her team's first run. One batter later, senior Alexei Gonzalez (Corpus Christi, Texas) beat out an infield hit, scoring fellow senior Rachael Longoria (Hutto, Texas) to tie the game at 2-2.
In the third, Kingsville moved in front thanks to consecutive doubles by juniors Roxy Chapa (McAllen, Texas) and Lauren Oatman (Fort Worth, Texas) and they continued adding on in the fourth. This time, it was Gonzalez who started the rally with a single. After freshman Loren Kelly (Rockport, Texas) hit into a fielder's choice, a knock by junior Victoria Schoonard-Saborio (Elk Grove, Calif.) put two ducks on the pond for Chapa. The catcher's second two-bagger of the night sent McLennan packing and upped the lead to 4-2.
Despite the pitching change, the Javelina offense continued to tack on runs. Two more came across in the fifth thanks to graduate student Ileana Aleman (Pharr, Texas). After three straight singles put a runner on each base, Aleman delivered a two-run base hit to double the lead for the Javs.
St. Mary's managed to pick up a run in the sixth thanks to an RBI double by Taylor Germain, but a quick call to the bullpen by Coach Craig Nicholson brought in Gilbert and she put an end to any hopes the Rattlers had of mounting a comeback. She struck out Hannah Michel to end the sixth, then struck out the side in the seventh to earn her first save of 2018.
GAME TWO
After slamming the door in style for the Javs in game one, Gilbert returned to start game two and was every bit as dominant.
While firing her 12th complete game of the season, the Florida native retired the first 13 hitters she faced. Gilbert (9-7) was tagged for just three hits and struck out five. This also marked the fifth time in 2018 Gilbert threw a complete game without issuing a walk.
Although the Javelina starter didn't need much run support, her teammates were able to provide the offense necessary for a win. Kelly quickly lit the fuse with a lead-off single in the first. She took second on a groundout and another single, courtesy of freshman Anastasia Leibas (Del Valle, Texas), plated Kelly for an early advantage.
Kingsville went to work again against Hope Russell (10-5) in the second and this time, Oatman and Longoria provided the spark, as the former doubled and the latter singled, putting runners on the corners before Russell had recorded an out. A single by Boyett and a fielder's choice by Gonzalez each tallied a run for a score of 3-0.
The only scoring that Gilbert allowed came on a fielder's choice in the fifth, but after that, the Javelina starter returned to form, retiring six of the last seven in a stretch that included four Ks.
A seven-game road swing for TAMUK starts on Monday with two games in Austin against St. Edwards. Game one's scheduled start time is 12 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.
