KINGSVILLE, Texas - Fresh off a series win to open Lone Star Conference play, the Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball program looks to carry the momentum gained from a thrilling finish in the finale against then-No. 5/3 West Texas A&M into the four-game set against Cameron set for the weekend.
The Javelinas took three of four from the Buffs in dramatic fashion after redshirt senior
Pablo Hernandez (Havana, Cuba) skied a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 13th over the left field wall for a 7-3 win in game four to send WT back to Canyon, Texas, empty-handed.
Following the dominant showing over the weekend, juniors
Zach Boyett (Robinson, Texas) and
Seth Spinn (Holland, Texas) swept the weekly awards from the LSC as Boyett was honored as Pitcher of the Week, while Spinn garnered Hitter of the Week.
Boyett hurled a complete-game shutout on the backend of Friday's doubleheader against the Buffs with five strikeouts as he scattered three hits over seven innings of work. Spinn, meanwhile, hit .529 over the week with nine hits in 17 at bats and extended his hitting streak to 16 games in the process.
On the year, Spinn is second in the LSC with a .430 batting average and leads the league in hits with 46.
Both totals are tops for the Hogs as he leads a group of four with batting averages over .300, with sophomore
Giancarlo Servin (Edinburg, Texas) second on the team with a .370 clip on 40 hits in 108 at bats.
Redshirt junior
Manny Loredo (McAllen, Texas) sits third with a .364 mark behind 36 hits in 99 at bats, including a team-high three home runs, while Hernandez brings up the rear with a .313 clip.
The Javelina pitching staff is settling into their respective roles through the first week of LSC play, with seniors
Eric Sandoz (Austin, Texas) and
Garrett Alexander (Spring, Texas) owning the best ERA on the team among qualified hurlers at 2.75 and 3.06, respectively.
Sandoz is 4-0 after taking the win in game four against WT with 21 strikeouts coupled with three saves, matched by Alexander in strikeouts while the latter has made 11 appearances.
Boyett rounds out the trio as he owns a 3.07 ERA through six starts, putting together a 3-2 record with 21 punchouts of his own.
The Aggies are currently 12-17 on the season after taking a 3-1 record against Tarleton to open the conference schedule. CU split Friday's doubleheader against the Texans before taking games three and four by a combined score of 26-15.
Following the series against TSU, Izrael Trevino leads the team with a .302 batting average but stands alone atop the team's batting list as no other qualified batter features an average over .300. Tyler Wood is the closest with a .302 mark but has missed CU's series against West Texas A&M along with a handful of other contests.
Cameron features a staff ERA of 6.54 with Devin Castro and Drew Henderson as the only ones owning an ERA under 5.00. Castro is sitting at 4.04 on the season through eight starts and is 1-2 on the year with 36 strikeouts in 42 and 1/3 innings pitched. Henderson, meanwhile, has made two starts and three relief appearances for a 4.32 ERA through 16 and 2/3 innings pitched.
Game one in Lawton, Okla., is set for Friday, March 29, with first pitch at 6 p.m. CT at McCord Field.
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