KINGSVILLE, Texas - The Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball program used a pair of prominent pitching performances on Friday, as senior Preston Plovanich (Santa Fe, Texas) and junior Zach Boyett (Robinson, Texas) both threw complete-game victories against Tarleton at Nolan Ryan Field en route to a series-opening doubleheader sweep in Lone Star Conference action.

"Those things are hard to do," said head coach Jason Gonzales, in reference to the sweep, "and I was proud of the way the guys hung in there. I didn't think we played our best baseball after the first inning of game one, but we pitched extremely well today.

"Both Preston and Zach threw up a bunch of zeroes and gave our hitters a chance. They kept coming and put the ball in play at crucial times, stole a couple of bases, and found a way to get a win. Sometimes an ugly win what you need, and we'll take it."

The Javelinas (22-12, 6-4 LSC) rode the arm of Plovanich for all seven innings of the first game over the Texans (11-21, 1-5 LSC) while Boyett nearly matched the feat in the second before the hosts took the contest in walk off fashion.

GAME ONE

The Hogs did most of their damage in the first inning of the contest, with five runs coming across in the opening stanza. Junior Cameron Melcher (Kerrville, Texas) started the rally with a sacrifice fly to left that plated classmate Austin De Leon (Frisco, Texas) with the bases loaded and nobody out.

A two-run triple to right center from redshirt senior Pablo Hernandez (Havana, Cuba) brought the next two home, as sophomore Giancarlo Servin (Edinburg, Texas) and redshirt senior Manny Loredo (McAllen, Texas) took a stroll home.

An RBI liner into right from senior Dylan Hutcheson (Wichita Falls, Texas) brought Hernandez home for the fourth run, while he scored later in the frame after swiping second, advancing to third on a passed ball and scoring on an errant throw from the catcher for a 5-0 lead.

The cushion held firm for the rest of the way as Plovanich found a groove and sat down seven Texans on strikes through the remainder of the game. He retired the visitors in order in four of his seven innings on the hill, including the final at bat, and worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth to preserve the shutout.

TAMUK posted its sixth run in the bottom of the fifth after Hernandez reached on a fielder's choice, stole second and scored on a bounding-ball single from Hutcheson.

TSU managed only two baserunners in the final two innings, with one getting picked off in the sixth.

Servin was perfect at the plate as he went 3-for-3 with three singles and drew a walk in his other plate appearance, while Loredo and Hutcheson both added a pair of hits in the contest.

GAME TWO

The back end of the doubleheader was a bit more harrowing for the hosts as Tarleton posted two runs in the top of the third to start the scoring. Blake Burns drove in Sam Scarborough with a liner into left, while an RBI groundout from Jon Law plated Jacob Walker for a 2-0 advantage.

TSU's starting pitcher Ty Jones mystified the Javelin lineup through the first five innings and was the beneficiary of a rare triple play in the bottom of the third.

Boyett stood his ground, however, as he sat down five Texans on strikes throughout the game and allowed only one baserunner after the third.

TAMUK finally broke through in the sixth after De Leon roped a pitch into left to lead off the home half of the stanza, made it to second on a wild pitch and eventually stood on third following a groundout from Servin.

Following a walk issued to Loredo, Melcher skied his second sacrifice fly of the day into left to bring De Leon home and cut the deficit in half at 2-1.

What become the game-winning rally started simply enough with a one-out, full-count walk issued to freshman Steven Bonuz (Port Lavaca, Texas). Classmate Matthew Stary (Houston, Texas) took the reins after entering the game as a pinch runner and ended up stealing second and making it to third on a wild pitch.

Following a strikeout, De Leon bounced a full-count pitch up the middle that was gloved by the second baseman, but he ended up beating the throw to first to bring the game-tying run home.

Servin ended up being the hero of the day as he pushed a single through the right side with the hit-and-run on, and De Leon raced home after the right fielder misplayed the ball to give the Blue and Gold their second walk-off win at home in LSC play.

De Leon matched Servin's accomplishment from the first game as he accounted for half of TAMUK's hit total behind a 3-for-3 performance at the dish, taking a walk in his other plate appearance.

Boyett grabbed the win after going the distance and coming away with five punchouts, scattering four hits over the outing.

Game three of the series is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 6, at Nolan Ryan Field.

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-