KINGSVILLE, Texas – For the second straight year, the No. 2 Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team sailed through the season's opening weekend undefeated, taking down four ranked opponents along the way, and they'll be trying to keep things rolling as they travel across state lines to Arkadelphia, Ark., where they'll place twice on Saturday and twice on Sunday as part of the McGhee Hawkins Invitational.
TAMUK's weekend will start at Sully Anderson Field on Saturday, where they'll take on the Ouachita Baptist Tigers at 12 p.m. and the Mississippi College Lady Choctaws at 2 p.m. The venue will switch to Dee White Field on Sunday and the Javelinas will square off with the Christian Brothers Lady Bucs at 10 a.m. and the Henderson State Reddies at 12 p.m.
As a team, the Javelinas are coming off a weekend in which they swung the bats to the tune of a .333 average and had seven players who hit .300 or better. The charge was led by sophomore Matisen Onofrei (Mesa, Ariz.), who totaled eight hits, including four for extra bases, in 19 at-bats for a .421 clip. She blasted two homers, including a grand slam, and has already matched her totals from last season in both homers and RBIs.
On the bases, junior Loren Kelly (Rockport, Texas) spent the season's first weekend terrorizing opposing catchers, swiping nine bases in as many attempts. That total puts her in a tie for the most steals in the nation and her 80 career thefts as a Javelina are just 10 away from the program's all-time record, set by Cassie Anderson. Kelly has also scored seven runs in six games, which puts her in a tie for the 11th most in Division II.
The 36 runs TAMUK has scored through their first six games are more than twice as many as have been allowed by a pitching staff led by the Lone Conference's Pitcher of the Week, senior Breanna Smith (San Antonio, Texas). Smith collected that honor after grabbing three wins, all of them over ranked teams, and pitching to a 1.80 ERA in 20 innings. Smith has now collected 51 victories in her Javelina career, the second-most in program history. Sophomore Saidi Castillo (Kingsville) notched two wins of her own while posting a 1.93 ERA in three appearances. As a group the Javelina pitching staff has held opponents to a .187 average through their first 41 innings.
It's been nearly a decade since the Javs faced any of the teams they'll be encountering in Arkadelphia and they've never played the Lady Bucs or the Lady Choctaws before.
In Mississippi College, the Javs will be taking on a team that fell just a couple wins short of a trip to super regionals in 2019. They returned two players who were all-region picks last season in catcher Carly Crawford and infielder Morgan Bradford. Crawford and Bradford were joined on the All-Gulf South Conference preseason team by pitcher Hannah Creel and infielder AnneMarie Peavy, but it's been one of the newcomers who's made her presence felt the loudest for the Lady Choctaws through four games. Freshman Rayne Minor started her collegiate career by picking up nine hits in her first 16 at-bats and also stealing five bases in as many attempts.
Links to live coverage of each game in Arkadelphia can be found on Javelinaathletics.com, where a complete recap will be available at the end of both days. Stay current with Javelina softball throughout the 2020 season 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.
