INDIANAPOLIS (NCAA/TAMUK) – The Texas A&M University-Kingsville baseball program took a tumble in the South Central regional rankings released on Wednesday following the third series loss of the season at the hands of West Texas A&M.

The Javelinas are ranked fourth heading into the final week of the regular season and will host Cameron for a four-game Lone Star series at Nolan Ryan Field starting on Friday, May 4.

In addition to the regional rankings, the Hogs dropped to the No. 27 spot in the Collegiate Baseball Division-II poll released on Monday, April 30.

Senior Jarred Taylor (Vidor, Texas) was one of the few bright spots for the Blue and Gold in the series against the Buffs as he turned in a complete-game win in the second game of the series that became a 23-1 thrashing of WT.

Taylor stymied the potent West Texas A&M offense by holding the hitters to a .130 average in the contest, scattering three hits over his seven innings of work and giving up the lone run late in the game before taking his third win of 2018.

The transfer from New Orleans lowered his ERA to 1.29 on the year to lead the team and stands at 3-0 on the year with 26 strikeouts to only nine walks.

Junior Pablo Hernandez (Havana, Cuba) was another consistent member for the Hogs as he put together eight hits in the series against WT for a .471 average, five of which went for extra bases.

Hernandez recorded a double and one RBI in the first game and followed up with three hits, including a triple, to go with three RBI and two runs in the second game.

The Cuban added a double in game three before he closed the weekend with a double and a solo shot in the final matchup. Hernandez currently leads the team in doubles (13), triples (3), home runs (5) and slugging percentage (.517) with one week to go in the season.

Cameron is currently in the midst of a nine-game skid after dropping the final contest to UT-Permian Basin prior to getting swept by both West Texas A&M and Tarleton State.

Luke Hughes is the lone Aggie to hit over .300 as he leads the team with a .307 average on 46 hits with 12 doubles, two triples and a pair of home runs to go with 22 RBI. CU is hitting .255 as a team with Michael Flohr, Micah Kaaukai, Trey Bigford and Cole Williams as the other four hitting at least .275 with an average of .286, .284, .282 and .277, respectively.

Reid Garrett, Gaige Vines and Andrew Garza have all shouldered the load on the mound for Cameron as all three have made at least 10 starts with Garrett making 11. Garrett owns a 5.00 ERA on a 6-4 mark in 12 total appearances with 53 strikeouts to 37 walks.

Vines is the only other Aggie hurler with a sub-6.00 ERA as he sits at 5.76 on the year with a 2-3 mark on 27 strikeouts to 28 walks, while Garza owns a 1-7 mark on a 6.85 ERA with a team-leading 59 strikeouts.

Collectively, opponents are hitting .319 against CU while opposing pitchers have compiled a 4.56 ERA.

The Hogs and the Aggies faced each other once before in 2018 when the Blue and Gold made the trip to Lawton, Olka., and took three of the four games in the series.

Senior Levi Zents (Fort Worth, Texas) and junior Manny Loredo (McAllen, Texas) led the way for the Javelinas as Zents started all four games and came away with a .471 average, while Loredo posted a 1.429 slugging percentage on four hits that all went for extra bases in the form of three doubles and a home run.

Seniors Kyle Craft (Victoria, Texas) and Lee May Gonzalez (Corpus Christi, Texas) both turned in solid outings on the mound as Craft took the win in game four with seven innings pitched and struck out five after Gonzalez turned in six innings of work in game three with five punchouts of his own.

Freshman Tyler Flores (San Antonio, Texas) secure a saved in game one after throwing four innings and striking out five, while junior Joshua Valdez (Kyle, Texas) took the save in game three after relieving Gonzalez with a pair of strikeouts in the seventh inning.

Game one of the weekend series against the Aggies is scheduled for Friday, May 4, with first pitch at 6 p.m. CT at Nolan Ryan Field.

For the complete regional rankings, click here.

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