ODESSA, Texas – Junior Breanna Smith (San Antonio, Texas) threw seven innings of four-hit ball, senior Roxy Chapa (McAllen, Texas) drilled a two-run homer and the No. 3 Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team squeaked out a 2-1 win over the UT Permian Basin Falcons in Lone Star Conference action on Friday evening at the UTPB Softball Complex in Odessa, Texas.
The Javelinas remained in the driver's seat for the No. 1 seed in the LSC Tournament by upping their record to 22-6 in league play and 39-8 overall. The Falcons now own records of 3-25 and 10-36.
"We pitched very well," said coach Craig Nicholson. "Outside of an error in the first inning, I thought we made a few good plays [on defense]. We couldn't get much going on offense, but we got one big swing from Roxy and a few from Victoria and that turned out to be all we needed."
It was UTPB who broke the ice and quickly. A pair of first inning singles combined with a Javelina error sent Abby Hernandez scurrying across the plate with the game's first run.
A chance to extend that lead came one inning later when the home team used a walk and two singles to load the bases with two outs, but Smith (15-3) worked out of the jam to keep the score frozen. The junior lefty then proceeded to settle in, striking out five of the next six hitters she faced and retiring 11 in-a-row.
The go-ahead runs came on one swing from Chapa in the fourth. Following a lead-off single by senior Victoria Schoonard-Saborio (San Antonio, Texas), Chapa hit a two-run bomb to center that provided Smith with a lead for the first time and TAMUK's starter would not relinquish it.
The only baserunners Smith allowed after the second inning were a batter she hit in the sixth and a two-out single in the seventh. Her 10th strikeout of the day ended the game, stranding the tying run on base.
The last two games of the regular season for TAMUK will take place on Saturday. The first pitch is scheduled to be thrown at 1 p.m. Two victories will clinch an LSC championship and the top seed in the conference tournament, as well as home-field advantage, for the Javelinas.
Fans can stay up-to-date with Javelina softball throughout the season by following @TAMUKSB and @JavelinaSports on Twitter, @JavelinaSports on Instagram, liking Javelina Sports on Facebook and visit Javelinaathletics.com.
