KINGSVILLE, Texas – For the first time in program history, the Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team is off to a 10-0 start and seeking its longest win streak since 2005 and they'll be tested five more times during the upcoming week, which will also include the start of Lone Star Conference play for the Javelinas.
On Wednesday, the Javs will play their first true road games of the season, visiting the Texas A&M International Dustdevils for a doubleheader at Dustdevils Softball Field in Laredo, Texas, which will begin at 12 p.m. On Friday, TAMUK will be back in Kingsville to start a three-game series with the Texas Woman's Pioneers at Hubert Field in Kingsville, Texas. The first game will begin at 6 p.m., followed by a Saturday doubleheader with first pitch set for 1 p.m.
Spectacular pitching has been the status quo for the Javelinas in the season's early going, as freshman Saidi Castillo (Kingsville, Texas) and juniors Breanna Smith (San Antonio, Texas) and Victoria Carrion (Robstown, Texas) all have ERA's well under two. Each hurler picked up a win during their team's most recent weekend of action and they are all currently holding opponents to a batting average under .200.
Castillo has been nearly untouchable this season, allowing only one earned run and 24 baserunners in 26 2/3 innings to go with a 5-0 record. The freshman from Santa Gertrudis High School has completed all three of her starts this season, giving up only 10 hits, no earned runs and striking out 20 over 19 innings in those outings. Carrion was responsible for pushing the squad's win streak to 10, shutting out New Mexico Highlands over seven frames to grab her second victory of the year.
While the pitching staff has been outstanding, the Javelina offense hasn't slacked off either. Their .347 average is third-best in the LSC and four Javelinas are hitting .400 or better. At the top of the leaderboard are sophomore Jory Cervantes (Pflugerville, Texas) and freshman Veronica Chavez (Tempe, Ariz.). Cervantes' 11 runs scored and .528 on-base percentage are the best marks on the team, while Chavez's marks of six extra-base hits and 13 RBIs are team-highs.
On the basepaths, TAMUK has swiped an LSC-best 23 bags, more than half of which have come from sophomore Loren Kelly (Rockport, Texas), who owns 13 steals without being caught. Kelly and Cervantes, who has six swipes, entered the week 1-2 in the conference in that category.
The Dustdevils are gunning for their first victory over the Javs since 2016 and they'll be attempting to break a streak of eight straight losses against their rivals from Kingsville. The Javelinas have taken 16 of the 21 matchups in the all-time series between these programs and own an overall edge of 29-16.
This season's edition of the Dustdevils carry a 5-7 record after three days in San Angelo, Texas, during which they picked a trio of wins over Adams State while also suffering three losses to No. 6 Angelo State. After being picked fifth in the Heartland Conference's preseason poll, TAMIU is looking to log a winning season for the first time since 2011, when they finished 32-29.
So far in 2019, coach Scott Libby's lineup has benefitted from the presence of five players who haven't missed a start this season. Each member of that group is hitting better than .320 and is led by freshman Heather Ruiz, who's raking to the tune of .429 BA. Preseason All-Heartland selections Maddison Schofield and Lindsey Smith have been the team's top run-producers, each driving in nine runs, including a four RBI day for Smith on Sunday against Adams State.
By contrast, the Pioneers are searching for some consistency on offense. Their .204 batting average puts them at the bottom of the LSC and they're still searching for their first home run of the season. They also have only one player with more than two runs scored and more than two RBIs.
Senior Tylia Sylestine was the heart of last year's lineup for TWU, earning first-team all-conference and All-American honors after finishing in the LSC's top 10 in on-base percentage (.521), home runs (14), slugging percentage (.810) and RBIs (43).
Sylestine is one of three 2018 all-conference selections back on the TWU roster, as Jordan Kisselburg and Lindy Kennedy are also back for another season in Denton. Kisselburg crafted a .397 clip last season and her 33 RBIs were the second-most on the team. Kennedy, one of four seniors on this year's team, batted .346 in 2018 with nine stolen bases.
Links to live stats and video of each contest, as well as a postgame recap, will be available on Javelinaathletics.com. To stay up-to-date with Javelina softball all year long, follow @TAMUKSB and @JavelinaSports on Twitter, @JavelinaSports on Instagram, like Javelina Sports on Facebook and visit Javelinaathletics.com.
