KINGSVILLE, Texas – Just three days after collecting perhaps the biggest series victory in program history, the Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team will be challenged again, this time by a non-conference opponent, as the St. Mary's Rattlers visit Hubert Field for a doubleheader, which will begin Tuesday night at 5 p.m. in Kingsville, Texas.
Despite remaining unranked by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, the Javelinas have continued to pile up victories against top-notch competition, none more impressive than the three games they took from No. 2 A&M-Commerce in their most recent weekend of action. For TAMUK, it marked the first time they'd ever swept a team ranked so highly ranked and it was also their second consecutive series victory over top 10 squad, as they'd spent the previous weekend knocking off then No. 8 Tarleton twice in three tries. It also marked the first time ever the Javelinas took consecutive series from ranked opponents.
The Javelina pitching staff continued its outstanding start to the season by holding the Lions to a .162 average and allowing just 12 hits in 21 innings while racking up 22 strikeouts compared to seven walks. The staff's 138 K's lead the Lone Star Conference and the majority of those punchouts belong to freshman Saidi Castillo (Kingsville, Texas), who earned two wins and a save against Commerce. Her strikeout total of 94 is 30 more than anyone else in the LSC and no one in conference can match her win total of 11.
Junior Breanna Smith's (San Antonio, Texas) six wins and 2.28 ERA have also earned her spots in the LSC's top five in those statistics and fellow junior Victoria Carrion (Robstown, Texas), who picked up a save against A&M-C, has allowed one earned run in 14 innings.
Four TAMUK hitters posted .500 batting averages over the weekend and the same number hit home runs as coach Craig Nicholson's lineup put together a .324 average and a .527 slugging percentage. Nicholson continues to get production from up and down the batting order, as seven different players drove in runs and 10 Javelinas crossed the plate during their last series. Senior Roxy Chapa (McAllen, Texas) leads the club with five round-trippers and 24 RBIs and she's also one of seven Javelinas hitting over .300.
The Rattlers come to Kingsville at 13-8 and 4-2 in the Heartland Conference and they possess a resume that includes some impressive results of their own. In their last doubleheader against a Lone Star Conference opponent they earned a split on the road against No. 1 Angelo State. SMU owns a 3-4 record against ranked opponents and one of those wins came against Tarleton on Feb. 1st. On Tuesday they'll be attempting to bounce back from a doubleheader sweep at the hands of Rogers State on Friday, which broke a four-game win streak for St. Mary's.
In those defeats, the Rattlers managed 16 hits but 15 of them were singles and they could only push across five total runs. In their first defeat, SMU wasted an excellent effort from pitcher Stacy Johns, who struck out seven and allowed just four hits over six innings. A year after earning the conference's pitcher of the year honor, Johns has continued to be one of the Heartland's most effective hurlers. Her eight wins and 1.40 ERA and both second-best in the HC.
At the plate, Johns also sports a .328 average and a team-high 13 RBIs, second only to Taylor Germain's .423. Germain also owns an OPS of 1.016 and has stolen six bases without being caught.
Live coverage of Tuesday's games, including a postgame recap will be available via Javelinaathletics.com. To stay up-to-date with Javelina softball all year long, follow @TAMUKSB and @JavelinaSports on Twitter, @JavelinaSports on Instagram, like Javelina Sports on Facebook and visit Javelinaathletics.com.
