KINGSVILLE, Texas - The Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball program will look to carry the momentum gathered over the road trip into the Lone Star Conference opening series starting on Friday, March 22, when No. 5/3 West Texas A&M pays a visit to Nolan Ryan Field for a four-game set.

The Javelinas improved to 16-8 on the year after going 5-1 on the road. TAMUK bested Houston-Victoria at 16-6, highlighted by a pinch-hit grand slam in the eighth from redshirt freshman Matthew Stary (Houston, Texas), before taking three of four from LSC foe Eastern New Mexico in non-conference action.

The Blue and Gold brought the road trip to an end with a dominant 18-5 win over 2018 NCAA South Central Regional tournament foe St. Edward's in a contest that featured five home runs for the Hogs en route to the decision.

As a team, TAMUK has eclipsed the 10-run mark on 11 different occasions, coming away with a 10-1 record in the process. Junior Seth Spinn (Holland, Texas) continues his tear through opponents as he raised his average to .421 to start the conference portion of the schedule.

Spinn owns a team-best 40 hits, seven doubles and three triples, has scored 33 runs, driven in 18 RBI, drawn 19 walks and stolen 14 bases on his way to an on-base percentage of .513 alongside a slugging percentage of .558.

Sophomore Giancarlo Servin (Edinburg, Texas) is approaching the .400 hitting mark, currently at .398 with 37 hits in 93 at bats, adding six doubles, one triple, 31 RBI, 28 runs and 13 stolen bases. Redshirt senior Manny Loredo (McAllen, Texas) is the other Javelina hitting over .350 with a clip of .360 on 31 hits in 86 at bats, and owns a team-best three home runs .

Only one starter for the Hogs features an ERA under 4.00, with senior Preston Plovanich (Santa Fe, Texas) leading the way with a 3.53 ERA through 35 and 2/3 innings pitched. The Santa Fe H.S. product owns a team-best 40 strikeouts and has held opponents to a .211 clip with only 17 runs allowed, 14 earned.

The Buffs, currently ranked fifth in the NCBWA poll and third in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll, are tearing through the opposition for a 21-3 mark on the year. WT is fresh off a four-game sweep of Cameron over the weekend to run the win streak to eight games.

As a team, the Buffs are hitting .359 with five different starters surpassing that mark. Kyle Kaufman leads the way with a .459 clip on 39 hits in 85 at bats, adding a .776 slugging mark and a .548 on-base average in the process.

Clay Koelzer comes in second with a .393 mark, followed by Keone Givens at .383 and Justin Martinez at .368, while Nick Guaragna rounds out the quintet at .360.

While leading all LSC schools at the plate, WT also leads the way on the hill with a 3.58 team ERA, with the usual suspects of Zach Dixon, Joe Corbett, Dominic Yearego and Darin Cook leading the forefront. Dixon owns the best out of all hurlers with a 1.44 ERA through 25 innings pitched.

Corbett is not far behind at a 1.66 ERA through 38 innings pitched, striking out a team-high 57 over that span, while Yearego anchors the bullpen at a 1.69 ERA through 16 innings pitched.

Cook, meanwhile, brings up the rear with a 2.22 ERA in 28 and 1/3 innings pitched. A 13-0 combined record comes courtesy of the quartet, while Yearego owns six saves on the year to date.

With inclement weather in the forecast, the Javelinas have opted to adjust the times of the games. Friday will now feature a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. CT at Nolan Ryan Field, with the second game starting approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first.

Saturday will now have a single, nine-inning game starting at 3 p.m. CT, while Sunday remains unchanged with a single game starting at 1 p.m. CT.

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-