CANYON, Texas – Senior Victoria Schoonard-Saborio (Elk Grove, Calif.) tallied four hits in game one and junior Breanna Smith (San Antonio, Texas) logged a win and save as the No. 6 Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team swept the No. 9 West Texas A&M Lady Buffs in a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon by scores of 10-6 and 2-0 in Lone Star Conference action at Schaeffer Park in Canyon, Texas.

These two victories catapult the Javelinas back into first place in the Lone Star Conference with a record of 14-4 in league play and 28-5 overall. The team the Javelinas passed is West Texas and they fall to 15-6 and 24-10.

"We're resilient," said coach Craig Nicholson. "When you pitch it well, you give yourself help in the area of bouncing back from a tough one last night. I love the way we came out today. We weren't phased after getting beat up pretty good last night. We just came out and played the game, stuck to our plan and did a really good job today."

GAME ONE

The Javelinas put on a laser show in game one, pounding out 16 hits on their way to victory, but it was the home team that opened the scoring. An error and a walk put two runners on for Kylee Moore, who lined an RBI single through the middle. Three batters later, with the bases loaded, an error plated three runs to put WT ahead by four. In the second, the Buffs extended their lead to five thanks to a run-scoring double by Miranda Grotenhuis.

The Javelina comeback started innocently enough with a base hit courtesy of sophomore Anastasia Leibas (Del Valle, Texas) to score sophomore Loren Kelly (Rockport, Texas) in the third, but in the fourth, TAMUK blew up to take the lead.

An error, a fielder's choice and a double put runners on second and third for sophomore Claire Chernosky (Sugar Land, Texas) and an infield hit combined with an error sent two runners across. A knock by Kelly was then followed by one from Schoonard-Saborio to tally Chernosky, bringing the visitors within one. A walk loaded the bases and freshman Veronica Chavez (Tempe, Ariz.) waited out another base on balls, tying the score. The first lead of the day for the Javelinas came when freshman Amber Reyes (Edinburg, Texas) smacked a single into left to make the score 6-5 and cap the rally.

In the fifth, the Javs used a two-out rally to build on their lead, Kelly lighting the spark with a single and a stolen base. She raced home on another single by Schoonard-Saborio, who later touched home on a wild pitch for an 8-5 lead.

An error allowed the Buffs to creep within three in their half of the fifth, but the Javelinas had an answer in the sixth in the form of Schoonard-Saborio's fourth hit of the day. A base hit to left-center brought in Chernosky and freshman Jory Cervantes (Pflugerville, Texas), extending the difference between the teams to four runs. Junior Breanna Smith (8-2) (San Antonio, Texas) did the rest, allowing a single baserunner over the last two innings to ice the game. In tossing her seventh complete game of the season, Smith struck out nine and permitted only three hits with just one coming after the second inning.

GAME TWO

Freshman Saidi Castillo (17-3) (Kingsville, Texas) and WT's Shayne Starkey locked into a pitcher's duel in the second game, consistently shutting down scoring opportunities.

In each of the first two innings, West Texas put runners on second and third, but in both instances, Castillo squashed the attempted uprising and kept the game scoreless.

The Buffs threaten again in the third, as a single and a walk put two on with one out. Castillo got a foul pop to first for the second out, but another hit packed the sacks to bring up Ruby Salzman. Salzman tried to send a grounder through the middle, but Leibas corralled it with a diving stop and flipped to Schoonard-Saborio for the third out to turn WT away again.

It wasn't until the fifth that the Javelinas put a dent in home plate and Chernosky got the inning started with a single. For the series, TAMUK's third baseman went 6-for-8 with a homer, two RBIs and three runs scored. Another hit and a bunt gave the Javs second and third with one out and two batters later Leibas broke the tie. She dropped a two-run double into the right field corner and the first lead of the game belonged to the Blue and Gold.

In the sixth, with two on and one out, Smith relieved Castillo and quickly found herself in a battle with Starkey. After a 14-pitch at bat, Smith caught the Buff pitcher looking for strike three and then induced a popup to end the frame. She worked around a one-out single in the seventh to collect her second save of 2019.

"I thought [Smith] threw the ball great today," said Nicholson. "She did a good job of keeping the ball in good spots. With the wind blowing, she did a good job of playing to the conditions of the ballpark. I thought both her and [Castillo] threw the ball well and if we can keep doing that, we'll give ourselves a chance every time out."

A home date with Western New Mexico is next on the docket for the Javelinas, who will begin a three-game series against the Mustangs on Friday with a 6 p.m. contest at Hubert Field. Keep up with Javelina softball throughout the 2019 season by following @TAMUKSB and @JavelinaSports on Twitter, @JavelinaSports on Instagram, liking Javelina Sports on Facebook and visit Javelinaathletics.com.