CONROE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team began the 2019 season with two victories on the first day of the Arkansas Tech Winter Invitational in Conroe, Texas, outlasting the Pittsburg State Gorillas, 5-2, for their first win and breezing past the Southeastern Oklahoma State Savage Storm, 8-0, in their second contest.
"Today was a good day for us," said Coach Craig Nicholson. "Both our pitchers threw very well. If we can continue to pitch like that, we'll have a chance every day."
TAMUK vs. Pittsburg State
Freshman Makenzie Mays' (Conroe, Texas) two-run triple broke a 2-2 tie in the eighth inning and propelled the Javelinas to a 5-2 victory over PSU.
The Javs' game-winning rally began with two outs when sophomore Claire Chernosky (Sugar Land, Texas) reached on an error. Freshman Jackie De Los Santos (Kingsville, Texas) followed by drawing a walk, bringing up Mays for her first at-bat as a Javelina. She proceeded to lash the seventh pitch of the at-bat into the right field corner to tally two runs before sophomore Loren Kelly (Rockport, Texas) added insurance with an RBI single. Freshman Saidi Castillo (Kingsville, Texas), who entered the game in the seventh, got the final three outs for her first collegiate win.
Following a scoreless first inning, the Javelinas dented home plate for the first time in 2019 in the second. A single by sophomore Anastasia Leibas (Del Valle, Texas) and a Veronica Chavez (Tempe, Ariz.) double put two runners on to start the frame. A groundout by De Los Santos two batters later plated Leibas for a 1-0 lead.
In the third, senior Roxy Chapa (McAllen, Texas) came up with sophomore Jory Cervantes (Pflugerville, Texas) on first and one out and rocketed a double into left-center. Cervantes raced across to up her team's lead to two before Pittsburg State's offense answered in their half of the frame.
Brittanee Knepper got the Gorillas on the board, scoring on a single and two errors to slice TAMUK's lead in half. Pittsburg State then waited out four consecutive two-out walks to tie the game.
Javelina starter Breanna Smith (San Antonio, Texas) and PSU's Halle Brin then locked eyes in a pitcher's duel that sent the game into extra innings, as both hurlers threw up zeroes in the next three frames. Smith would leave the game in the seventh, having allowed only four hits and struck out 10 in 6 1/3 innings. It was in the eighth inning the Javelinas got to Brin again and put together the rally that won the game.
Southeastern Oklahoma State vs. TAMUK
After recording the final five outs in her team's first win of the day, Castillo returned to the circle in the nightcap, twirling five near-perfect innings as Roxy Chapa's three hits and four RBIs helped spark the offense in a run-rule triumph.
Castillo was able to work around of pair of first inning hits for SOSU before completely taking control. The Savage Storm didn't have a single baserunner the rest of the day and Castillo would finish her first start facing just one batter over the minimum. She collected five strikeouts without issuing a walk.
The Javelina offense had no such trouble scoring, immediately jumping on starter Emily Cudd for three runs in the opening frame. Chapa got the scoring started with single that tallied Cervantes, who'd singled and moved to third on a passed ball. Base hits from Leibas, Chavez and Mays followed, sending across the final two runs of the inning.
In the second, Cervantes singled and stole second before scoring on Chapa's second safety of the evening and the senior catcher added another hit two innings later. This one came with runners on second and third and the McAllen native drove in both runners with a double. Up next was Leibas, who singled in Chapa for a 7-0 lead.
In the fifth, De Los Santos slapped a single into center to start the rally that iced the game. Another first-year Javelina, Amber Reyes (Edinburg, Texas) also singled and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. A fielder's choice then plated pinch-runner Yvonne Castillo (Leander, Texas) with the winning run.
The third game of the season in on the schedule for Saturday afternoon, when the Javelinas will meet the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs at 1 p.m. Javelina fans can keep with Blue and Gold softball by following @TAMUKSB and @JavelinaSports on Twitter, @JavelinaSports on Instagram, liking Javelina Sports on Facebook and visit Javelinaathletics.com.
