SAN ANTONIO – Sophomore Matisen Onofrei (Mesa, Ariz.) collected three hits, including her sixth home run of the season, and scored twice to help pave the way for a 7-2 victory for the Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team in the second game of a doubleheader against the St. Mary's Rattlers on Saturday night in Lone Star Conference action at the St. Mary's Softball Stadium in San Antonio.

This split gives both teams records of 1-1 in conference play while TAMUK moves to 13-6 overall and St. Mary's now stands at 9-13.

GAME ONE

The first two innings went by scoreless as starters Alex McLennan and sophomore Saidi Castillo (Kingsville, Texas) locked into a pitcher's duel. StMU had the best chance to score, putting runners at the corners in the second, but Castillo used a strikeout and a lineout to escape the jam.

The first run came from the Javs in the third and almost entirely thanks to junior Loren Kelly (Rockport, Texas). She singled with one out, stole second and third and, after a walk to junior Anastasia Leibas (Del Valle, Texas), came in to score when Leibas got caught in a rundown.

The Rattlers' Jamie Johns made sure that lead didn't last long, as she led off her team's half of the third with a homer. The next two hitters were retired, but consecutive walks followed and when Amber Gonzalez slapped a single through the middle, Abigale Carney came home to break the tie.

The Javs immediately threatened the St. Mary's lead, loading the bases in the fourth, but McLennan wiggled out of trouble and prevented the tying run from scoring. In each of the last two frames, the visitors again put runners in scoring position, only to have McLennan find a way out of each jam, retiring the game's final batter with the tying run standing on second.

GAME TWO

Solo homers started the scoring for both sides in the second, as Onofrei went deep for the Javelinas and Gonzales hit one out for the Rattlers. TAMUK quickly regained their lead in the third thanks to a Kelly hit, a stolen base, and a pair of ground balls that scored the Javelina lead-off hitter.

In the fourth, two more runs came in for the Javs without the benefit of a hit. Sophomore Amber Reyes (Edinburg, Texas) reached on an error and freshman Natalie Rodriguez (Edinburg, Texas) then drew a walk. After a groundout moved both runners up, Reyes scored on a wild pitch and a passed ball plated Rodriguez to make the score 4-1.

The visitors continued adding to their lead in the fifth, first on a Makenzie Mays (Conroe, Texas) sacrifice fly, which was immediately followed by a pinch-hit RBI single off the bat of Katherine Flores (Corpus Christi, Texas). A Rattler error in the sixth allowed Kelly to touch home with one more insurance run.

Castillo, who also started the second game, kept StMU from being able to close that gap. She only allowed one more run after the Gonzales homer, scattering seven hits and walking only one over six-and-a-third innings. Senior Victoria Carrion (Robstown, Texas) finished the night by recording the last two outs.

The Javelinas' next destination is Austin, where the St. Edward's Hilltoppers will them for a doubleheader on Sunday scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. 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.