KINGSVILLE, Texas - A 15-strikeout performance in the circle from freshman Saidi Castillo (Kingsville, Texas) was overshadowed by a wild walk-off win on Friday at Vernie and Blanche Hubert Field, as Texas A&M-Kingsville took the first game from No. 2 A&M-Commerce in dramatic fashion in the Lone Star Conference matchup.

Freshman Amber Reyes (Edinburg, Texas) stole the spotlight from her classmate as she ripped the 1-1 pitch from Emily Otto through the right side of the diamond to push the Javelinas (17-2, 5-2 LSC) over the top as the ball caromed off the second baseman and deep enough into the outfield grass to give sophomore Lisa Sosa (Corpus Christi, Texas) the smallest window to score.

The Lions' (17-4, 6-1 LSC) relay from the outfield was a split-second too late as the play at the plate came up short to give TAMUK the first game at 3-2.

The Blue and Gold took a roundabout way to get to the seventh after senior Victoria Schoonard-Saborio (Elk Grove, Calif.) pushed the 1-2 pitch from Otto through the left half of the infield in the bottom of the second with runners in scoring position to plate freshman Veronica Chavez (Tempe, Ariz.).

A misplay on the ball from the left fielder gave enough room for freshman Yvonne Castillo (Leander, Texas) to score and a 2-0 lead favored the hosts heading into the top of the third.

Meanwhile, S. Castillo sat down every leadoff batter she faced through the first five innings in the circle. She quickly matched her previous season high in strikeouts with her 11th in the top of the fifth before she set a new personal best in the top of the sixth with a punchout of Jodie Hill to end the inning.

The sixth started off with Kimber Neal reaching on a bunt single before a miscue from the Javelinas put runners at first and second with nobody out. Back-to-back singles from Kayla Kilcrease and Vanessa Muro evened the count on the scoreboard at 2-2 before S. Castillo took care of the final two batters of the frame.

TAMUK had a golden opportunity to put the pressure on the visitors with a runner on first with Schoonard-Saborio coming to the plate. The Elk Grove H.S. product took the first pitch she saw to the warning track in right center, but a leaping grab from Kilcrease at the wall brought a stop to any hopes of a late-game lead.

S. Castillo struck out the side in the top of the seventh, getting Madison Schaefer and Chealsea Slider swinging before Neal went down looking, to set the stage for the bottom half of the stanza. Freshman Makenzie Mays (Conroe, Texas) led the at bat off with an infield single on the first pitch she saw before head coach Craig Nicholson opted for Sosa to pinch run.

A sacrifice bunt from freshman Jackie De Los Santos (Kingsville, Texas) put Sosa into scoring position, and the heroics from Reyes put the Javelinas on top for the first part of the three-game set at 3-2.

S. Castillo ended with 15 strikeouts and only two walks to her name, allowing only two runs, one earned, and three hits to move her mark to 10-1 on the year.

Sophomore Loren Kelly (Rockport, Texas), senior Roxy Chapa (McAllen, Texas) and Schoonard-Saborio each came away with two hits in the win.

Saturday's doubleheader for the second and third iteration of the series is set for a 1 p.m. CT first pitch at Hubert Field.

Stay up-to-date with Javelina softball at JavelinaAthletics.com, follow the team on Twitter @TAMUKSB, and see recent news on Facebook at /JavelinaSports

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