KINGSVILLE, Texas – For the third consecutive week, the No. 3 Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team gets to stay home for a postseason tournament and the Javelinas will be hosting the Cameron Aggies in the South Central Super Regional at Hubert Field in Kingsville, Texas. This best two-of-three series will start with a 7 p.m. game on Thursday, followed by a 4 p.m. first pitch on Friday and a 6:30 p.m. start later that day for the if-necessary finale.
This is the first trip to the Super Regional for both of these programs and the top-seeded Javelinas and sixth-seeded Aggies took very different routes to arrive at the doorstep of the Division II NCAA Softball Championship.
"I think we're excited," said coach Craig Nicholson. "First and foremost, we're happy to be at home. We're back in a format that we're used to, playing a three-game series. We'll be ready to go Thursday night."
The Javs earned the region's top seed by capturing the Lone Star Conference championship in the regular season, then taking the conference tournament as well. Victories over Oklahoma Christian and No. 9 West Texas A&M kept TAMUK in the winner's bracket in South Central Regional 1 before the Javelinas came from behind in the final to thwart an upset attempt by OC. The Blue and Gold will ride a 13-game win streak into Thursday's opener.
Cameron began its postseason with consecutive losses, first to No. 19 in the first round of the conference tournament, then again against the TexAnns to fall into the loser's bracket in South Central Regional 2. They bounced back a day later, eliminating Dixie State and TSU with successive wins to set up a date with the region's No. 2 seed, A&M-Commerce.
Needing to triumph over the Lions twice, the Aggies outslugged their hosts, 13-9 in the day's first meeting. The nightcap went into the final inning tied before Cameron, designated as the home team on Commerce's home field, walked-off with the regional championship on a Callie Busby home run, punching their ticket to the next round.
This is the first trip to South Texas for Cameron in 2019 after they hosted the Javelinas for three games in March. CU won the first game on walk-off home run courtesy of Breley Webb, but the Javelinas redounded in a doubleheader the next day. Shaking off a late Aggie comeback, TAMUK won game one in extra innings, then pounded out eight runs in the second game while junior Victoria Carrion (Robstown, Texas) tossed a shutout, clinching a series victory.
Senior Roxy Chapa (McAllen, Texas) and sophomore Anastasia Leibas (Del Valle, Texas) were the two main standouts for the Javelinas in regional play. Chapa drove in four in her team's first victory over OC, three of which came on her 11th home run of the season and Leibas helped turn a pair of double plays at shortstop. Against WT, Chapa provided another clutch hit, this time a three-run double that capped off a five-run Blue and Gold rally in which the Javs took the lead for the last time.
Leibas had the big hit in the rematch with the Eagles, a go-ahead two-run single in the sixth. That hit also pushed her RBI total for the season to 56, a new single-season program record.
Callie Busby's heroics in Commerce went beyond her title-clinching home run. She stole five bases over her team's last four games, with three coming in Cameron's first win against Commerce and she also scored three times in that contest. Breley Webb had a hit in all four Aggie victories. She drove in three runs in CU's first win over A&M-C, then scored twice in the clincher.
Fans can find the Super Regional Hub on Javelinaathletics.com and it contains links to live stats, video postgame recaps and press conferences. For updates regarding TAMUK's upcoming schedule, follow @TAMUKSB and @JavelinaSports on Twitter, @JavelinaSports on Instagram, like Javelina Sports on Facebook and visit Javelinaathletics.com.
