CONROE, Texas – Seniors Breanna Smith (San Antonio, Texas) and Victoria Carrion (Robstown, Texas) and sophomore Saidi Castillo (Kingsville, Texas) combined to allow three runs on six hits as the Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team triumphed over the No. 7 Central Oklahoma Bronchos, 4-1, and the Pittsburg State Gorillas, 4-2 on Friday afternoon in Conroe, Texas during the first day of the Arkansas Tech Winter Invitational. This marks the fourth consecutive time the Javelinas have started the year with two wins on the season's first day.
"We played pretty well," said coach Craig Nicholson. "Maybe a little over excited in certain spots, but our pitching and defense were pretty good and we got some timely hits when we needed them. These were good wins against good ballclubs.
TAMUK vs. Central Oklahoma
All of TAMUK's offense came during a second inning rally that started when sophomore Amber Reyes (Edinburg, Texas) reached on an error. A Natalie Rodriguez (Edinburg, Texas) single moved Reyes to third and she swiped home on a double steal that also saw another error move Rodriguez to third. Junior Claire Chernosky (Sugar Land, Texas) tallied her team's second run with a sacrifice fly and RBI knocks courtesy of junior Loren Kelly (Rockport, Texas) and sophomore Jory Cervantes (Pflugerville, Texas) later in the frame upped the Javelina lead to 4-0.
Smith was nearly flawless in the first five frames, only permitting a single hit and striking out seven. During those five innings, the Bronchos were unable to get a runner past first base.
In the sixth, UCO mounted their most serious threat to TAMUK's lead. With a runner on first and two outs, the Bronchos strung together consecutive singles, the second one sending across pinch-runner Audrie Morrison to make the score 4-1 while also bringing up the tying run. At that point, Smith quelled the uprising with an inning-ending strikeout, her ninth of the afternoon, then locked down her team's first win with a perfect seventh inning.
TAMUK vs. Pittsburg State
For the first four innings, Castillo and Shelby Smith matches zeroes with neither side registering a hit. PSU was the first team to break the ice, getting on the board in the fifth on a sacrifice fly following two walks and a hit. The Gorillas had a chance for more with the bases loaded and one out, but a strikeout and a groundout allowed Castillo to escape with limited damage.
A response came swiftly from the Blue and Gold in the inning's bottom half. Consecutive triples off the bats of sophomores Matisen Onofrei (Mesa, Ariz.) and Makenzie Mays (Conroe, Texas) dented home plate with the tying run and Mays scored one batter later when Reyes beat out an infield hit. TAMUK's right fielder tacked on the inning's third run, scoring on a Chernosky sacrifice fly.
The Gorillas sliced their deficit in half in the top of the sixth thanks to an RBI single from Kaity Kukowski, but TAMUK's third triple of the day, this one coming from junior Anastasia Leibas (Del Valle, Texas), sent Cervantes scampering home with her team's final run. A scoreless seventh from Carrion locked up victory No. 2.
TAMUK's schedule for day two in Conroe will be much like that of day one, as the Javs start off with a matchup at 10 a.m., this time against No. 14 Southern Arkansas, then battling No. 21 Arkansas Tech at 12:30 p.m. To keep with Javelina softball all season long, follow @TAMUKSB on Twitter, @JavelinaSports on Twitter and Instagram, like Javelina Sports on Facebook and subscribe to the Javelina Athletics YouTube Channel. Watch your Javelinas live today on the Javelina Sports Network sponsored by Mendoza's Pharmacy.
