KINGSVILLE, Texas - With inclement weather playing havoc around the state of Texas this past week, the Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball program finally takes to the field for the first time in 2021 with a road trip to Laredo, Texas, for a three-game Lone Star Conference series against Texas A&M International.

The 13th season for head coach Jason Gonzales gets underway with game one of the series set for Saturday, February 20, followed by game two on Sunday, February 21, and the series finale on Monday, February 22. The contests on Saturday and Monday will have a first pitch time of 1 p.m. CT, while Sunday's game will start at 2:30 p.m. CT at Jorge Haynes Field.

The Javelinas finished a COVID-shortened 2020 season with a 12-10 record after starting the year 9-1 with series wins over Oklahoma Christian, Cameron and Lubbock Christian. TAMUK was slated to play UTPB in a four-game set starting March 13, 2020, before the NCAA brought the spring schedules to a halt.

Sophomore Steven Bonuz (Port Lavaca, Texas) finished the 2020 campaign as the Blue and Gold's leading hitter at .302 with 16 hits in 53 trips to the play. He also slugged .491 with a pair of home runs and four doubles to his name.

Junior Giancarlo Servin (Edinburg, Texas) slotted himself ahead of Bonuz in the slugging percentage category with a team-high eight doubles along with four home runs as he recorded a team-high 21 hits in 17 at-bats for a .296 clip. He was matched by senior Seth Spinn (Holland, Texas) in hits as both Spinn and Servin started all 22 games in 2020.

Spinn finished his year with a team-high three home runs and added one triple and four doubles to his total.

On the hill, the junior duo of Amado Almanzar (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) and John Mike Rodriguez (Corpus Christi, Texas) became the one-two punch with six starts apiece, most on the team. Almanzar finished his season with a 2-2 record and 3.64 ERA coupled with 36 strikeouts in 29.2 innings pitched, while Rodriguez ended up with an identical record on a 4.50 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 30 innings on the bump.

Sophomore Matthew Sesler (Harlingen, Texas) was the go-to stopper out of the bullpen for the Javelinas as he led the team with a 2.76 ERA to go with 18 strikeouts in 16.1 innings thrown and finished with a 1-2 record and one save.

The Dustdevils visited UT Permian Basin to open the schedule and took two of three from the Falcons. TAMIU followed that up with three games against UT Tyler at home the following week but got swept by the Patriots as a result.

Jerry Villareal, Ariben Gutierrez and Ronnie Bailey lead the way from the batter's box as Villareal owns a blistering .478 batting average through six games. He has compiled 11 hits so far in 23 at bats, including three doubles and one home run, to go with eight RBI.

Gutierrez, meanwhile, sits at a .391 clip with nine hits in 23 trips to the plate, added a pair of doubles and four runs scored, while Bailey rounds out the trio with a .353 average on six hits in 17 at bats alongside one double and one home run.

Zach Pena and Joseph Garza-Delapena both picked up wins against UTPB. Pena's two appearances both came out of the bullpen as he owns a 5.68 ERA and four strikeouts through 6.1 innings pitched, while Garza-Delapena owns a 9.00 ERA and nine strikeouts in seven innings on the hill.

Hugo Mendiola leads the way with four relief appearances and a 1.69 ERA through 5.1 innings pitched as he has struck out seven so far, while Abanny Garcia has made one start and one relief appearance for a 1.50 ERA in six innings.

Saturday will also be a reunion for Gonzales and his former assistant Philip Middleton. Middleton was the assistant coach for the Javelinas from 2013 through the 2020 season before joining the TAMIU staff as the new skipper ahead of the 2021 campaign.

Watch your Javelinas live on the Javelina Sports Network sponsored by Mendoza's Pharmacy. Stay up-to-date with everything Javelina baseball at JavelinaAthletics.com, follow the program on Twitter @JavelinaBSB and see recent news on Facebook at /JavelinaBSB

-JAVELINAS-