Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 AUSTIN, Texas – Sophomore Breanna Smith (San Antonio, Texas) fired a complete game, four-hit shutout and the Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team blanked the St. Edwards Hilltoppers, 4-0, in game one of a doubleheader at Diane Daniels Field in Austin, Texas on Monday afternoon. The Hilltoppers took game two, 2-1.
With this split, the Javelina record is now 22-20. St. Edwards stands at 5-34.
GAME ONE
Smith set down the Hilltoppers in order three times over her seven-inning outing and she also faced the minimum in the fifth by inducing a double play. She only allowed two runners to reach scoring position and nobody touched second base for SEU after the third. The sophomore southpaw also didn't walk a batter.
It didn't take long for Smith's teammates to give her a cushion to work with. In the first inning, freshman Loren Kelly (Rockport, Texas) reached on an infield hit and an error put two runners on for junior Roxy Chapa (McAllen, Texas). TAMUK's catcher ripped a double down the left-field line to tally Kelly. Freshman Anastasia Leibas (Del Valle, Texas) followed with a two-bagger of her own that drove in a pair for an early 3-0 edge.
The Javs tacked on one more in the second, a frame that senior Haley Boyett (Waco, Texas) began with a single. After Boyett took second with two outs, she proceeded to swipe third and junior Victoria Schoonard-Saborio (Elk Grove, Calif.) plated her by whacking an RBI triple into right-center.
From there, Smith took over, permitting only a pair of singles through the last four frames and throwing her 14th complete game of the season to earn her 13th win. She needed only 78 pitches to do so.
GAME TWO
The second game proved to be a display of solid pitching on both sides before SEU won it in the last at-bat.
Through five innings, senior Sarah Gilbert (9-8) (Chipley, Fla.) and St. Edward's Olivia Burdick had only allowed a single baserunner to reach third and the offenses were hitless in six combined at-bats with runners in scoring position.
The Hilltoppers were the first team to break through, as a solo homer by Karolina Rodriguez in the bottom of the sixth staked Burdick (2-15) to a slim lead.
TAMUK's offense finally found its footing in the seventh, as senior Rachael Longoria (Hutto, Texas) began the frame with a single to right, the only Javelina lead-off hitter to reach base in game two. A sacrifice by Boyett allowed Longoria to take second and junior Arabella Acosta-Cantu's (Corpus Christi, Texas) single pushed the tying run to third. The Javs then attempted a double steal, only to see Longoria tagged out while Acosta-Cantu stole second, but pinch-hitter Ileana Aleman (Pharr, Texas) lined a hit into left, driving in the tying run.
Unfortunately for Kingsville, the tie was only a brief one. Sara Machado led-off the bottom of the seventh and, after working the count full, she homered to left, ending the game.
Three more road games are up next on the schedule for coach Craig Nicholson and his team. They'll be in Portales, N.M. for a series with Eastern New Mexico that includes a doubleheader on Friday and the series finale on Saturday.
