KINGSVILLE, Texas - The [6/5] Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball program will take to the diamond on Friday, February 15, for a three-game series against regional foe St. Mary's at Dickson Stadium in San Antonio.

The Hogs are looking to extend their three-game win streak after going 3-0 at the Alpine Fresh 4-Him Classic in Cleburne, Texas, last week. The Blue and Gold defeated Newman by a count of 6-5, courtesy of an eighth-inning sacrifice fly from sophomore Giancarlo Servin (Edinburg, Texas) to push redshirt junior Kohl Ullman (Houston, Texas) home, to start pool play of the tournament.

The Javelinas followed up with a 10-5 victory over Oklahoma Christian the following day, with a two-run shot from redshirt senior Manny Loredo (McAllen, Texas) serving as the spearhead in the win, and closed the tourney with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Oklahoma Baptist after TAMUK took advantage of some late-game miscues from the Bison.

The championship game against UT Permian Basin was cancelled due to inclement weather in the area.

Following the tournament, Loredo pushed his average to .429 on the year, leading the team with nine hits and nine RBI. The McAllen, Texas, native is currently slugging at a .762 clip in the early goings of the season with three extra-base hits, one coming as a double alongside two home runs.

Senior Donovan Lewis (Alvin, Texas) is second on the team with a .333 clip after getting the start in the games against OCU and OBU, while junior transfer Seth Spinn (Holland, Texas) rounds out the trio with a slash line of .318/.464/.318 (batting average / on-base pct. / slugging pct.).

On the hill for the Javelinas, senior Preston Plovanich (Santa Fe, Texas) has made two appearances on the year so far for a respectable 2.45 ERA in 11 innings pitched. He leads the team with 14 punchouts and has only issued four walks for a 1.27 WHIP alongside his 1-1 record.

The Javelinas have used 10 pitchers in total through the first six games, with senior Joshua Valdez (Kyle, Texas), sophomore Tyler Flores (San Antonio, Texas) and junior Zach Boyett (Robinson, Texas) all getting billed as the starter at some point. Boyett leads the pack with a 1.80 in his only appearance at the Houston Winter Invitational two weeks' prior.

The Rattlers recently had a five-game streak snapped in an 8-7 loss to Lone Star Conference foe Angelo State to move to 6-2 on the year. St. Mary's recent swept Tarleton in a three-game set at Dickson Stadium starting on Feb. 8 after besting the Texans at Minute Maid Park to start the year at 8-5.

Four players are currently hitting over .300 on the year, with Donnie Perez leading the way on a .452 clip. He leads the team with 14 hits and three home runs for a .806 slugging percentage, adding 10 RBI in the process.
Andrew Perez is close behind at a .387 with 12 hits, Keaton Milford sits beyond that at .343 with a team-leading 19 RBI, while Johnny Hernandez brings up the rear on a .333 clip.

Five pitchers are currently hurling under a 3.00 ERA on the season with multiple appearances on the year. Oscar Sepulveda sits at the top with a 1.80 ERA in 10 innings pitched along with 13 strikeouts, while Jacob Koehler owns the second position with a 2.16 ERA.

Zach De La Garza and Connor Schmidt both own a 2.45 ERA on the year, with De La Garza getting two starts and Schmidt making three relief appearances, and Levi Hon is the final Rattler with an ERA under 3.00 at 2.57 in two relief appearances behind 11 strikeouts.

Game one of the series is set for Friday, Feburary 15, with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. CT in San Antonio.

Stay up-to-date with everything Javelina baseball at JavelinaAthletics.com, follow the program on Twitter @JavelinaBSB and see recent news on Facebook at /JavelinaBSB

-JAVELINAS-