KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team is ready to begin defense of their Lone Star Conference Championship as they kick-off their 2020 LSC schedule with a pair of road doubleheaders. TAMUK will first visit the St. Mary's Softball Stadium in San Antonio on Friday where they'll take on the St. Mary's Rattlers in two games beginning at 5 p.m., then they'll travel to Austin for a twin bill beginning at 1 p.m. against the St. Edward's Hilltoppers at Diane Daniels Field.
While both of TAMUK's opponents are in the midst of their first year in the LSC, they are not unfamiliar foes for the Javelinas. The Javs and the Rattlers have met exactly 100 times, with StMU claiming 72 of those contests, while SEU and TAMUK have clashed 83 times and the Javelinas own a 48-35 edge in that series. In 2019, the Javs were a combined 5-1 against these two teams, including an 8-0 triumph over the Hilltoppers on Feb. 5th in which Breanna Smith (San Antonio, Texas) fired a no-hitter.
Sophomore Saidi Castillo (Kingsville, Texas) continued her stellar start to the season on Saturday, during her team's first home appearance of the season. She started the day by throwing a five-inning two-hitter as the Javelinas cruised to a run-rule victory. She then entered the second game in relief and rattled off another five scoreless frames and ran her strikeout total for the day to 10 without issuing a walk.
In 10 appearances as a sophmore, Castillo has allowed more than one earned run just once and her 1.09 ERA puts her third in the conference, an even more impressive stat considering Castillo has thrown more innings than anyone else in the LSC's top five in ERA. She's also among the conference leaders in wins, shutouts and strikeouts, where her 61 have her tied for ninth in the nation.
Junior Loren Kelly (Rockport, Texas) has continued to cement her status as one of the nation's best top-of-the-order hitters, but she's been joined by sophomore Jory Cervantes (Pflugerville, Texas). No one on the Javelina roster can claim a better average than Cervantes' .411 and she's reached base safely in every game but one in 2020. Cervantes ranks in the top 10 in the LSC in hits and her 16 runs scored already have her more than halfway to the 31 she finished with in that stat in 2019.
The Rattlers have spent the first month of the season running the gauntlet against some of the best softball teams Division II has to offer, taking on squads such as No. 6 Southern Arkansas, No. 2 Augustana and No. 11 Dixie State. They've made it through that stretch with an 8-12 record and are set to dive into LSC play for the first time. Infielders Jamie Johns and Tiffany Licon have led the way for StMU at the plate this season, with both hitting above .400. Johns mark of .449 is in the top 10 in the LSC and she entered the week on a 15-game hitting streak.
For SEU, they've made it through the season's first four weeks at 9-5, their best start through 14 games since 2015. Coach Glasgow has a pair of .400 hitters of her own, led by the red-hot Jordan Neely and her .447 clip. In just her first season with the Hilltoppers, Neely has already pushed herself into the top 10 in the conference in slugging and on-base percentage and is just outside the top 10 in hitting and homers. Her presence in the lineup is complemented by junior Kathryn Connelly, who's at an even .400 in 50 at-bats.
Fans can visit Javelinaathletics.com for links to live stats and video for every game, as well as a postgame recap. You can keep up with everything related to Javelina softball all season long by following @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.
