KINGSVILLE, Texas – Freshman Beth Montes (San Antonio, Texas) fired a complete-game, one-hit shutout in her Javelina debut to lead the No. 23 Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team past the Tabor College Bluejays on Saturday on the first day of the Kingsville Tournament at Hubert Field in Kingsville, Texas. The Javs dropped their second game of day, 5-3 in extra innings, to the Columbia College Cougars.
The Javelinas now own a record of 3-1 in 2021.
"The big thing is we were probably a little bit inconsistent," said coach Craig Nicholson. "In the second game especially, our offensive adjustments were not very good. We just have to continue to adjust in that area. We've got to be able to adjust to what we're seeing. I felt like we had some really good at-bats at times, then in key spots we have some bad at-bats."
TAMUK vs. Tabor
Montes' 13 strikeouts were the most in a game by a Javelina since Saidi Castillo (Kingsville, Texas) had 15 against A&M-Commerce on March 1st, 2019. The right-hander started the game by retiring the first 17 batters she faced before a sixth-inning walk broke the streak and the Bluejays didn't pick up their first hit until the seventh. Montes struck out at least one batter in every frame and threw 67 strikes on 97 pitches.
Run support for Montes' gem arrived quickly in the form of a first-inning, RBI triple by junior Jennifer Giesey (Crystal Lake, Ill.), followed by a Kayla Gonzales (San Antonio, Texas) sacrifice fly. In the fourth, junior Anastasia Leibas (Del Valle, Texas) tacked on a pair with a two-run double and a two-bagger by Giesey in the fourth plated Jory Cervantes (Pflugerville, Texas) to make the score 5-0.
Junior Claire Chernosky (Sugar Land, Texas) drove in the game's sixth run with a single in the fifth and Kayla Gonzalez pushed her team's lead to 7-0 in the sixth, lacing a double off the centerfield fence. One batter later, Leibas applied the final blow, drilling a two-run homer to center. Another scoreless inning from Montes closed out TAMUK's third victory.
TAMUK vs. Columbia
Pitching was the story throughout the Javelinas' second game of the day, but the home team used an error, a Giesey single and a fielder's choice to tally an unearned run the first inning.
In the circle, senior Breanna Smith (San Antonio, Texas) made that lead stand up in the early innings, retiring the first nine batters she faced, but in the fifth, a single and a double put two runners on with one out and Skyler Kauble slapped a single through the middle to tie the score. A sacrifice fly followed to plate the go-ahead run.
In the bottom of the sixth, a walk, a single and two steals gave the Javs a pair of runners in scoring position with one out and freshman Katherine Flores (Corpus Christi, Texas) delivered the game-tying knock. Two chances for TAMUK to bring in the go-ahead run went by the wayside, however, and after a scoreless seventh, the contest headed to extra innings.
In the eighth, Columbia began the frame with back-to-back singles to tally the go-ahead run. After a bunt moved two runners into scoring position, Jacey Meyer laced a two-run single through the middle to make the score 5-2. In their half of the eighth, a hit batter immediately allowed the Javs to bring up the tying run, but they could only push across one run before the Cougars secured the final out.
The Javelinas will play two more games at Hubert Field on Sunday, taking on Columbia College at 1 p.m. before a 5 p.m. matchup with St. Mary's. Stay current with Javelina softball by following @TAMUKSB and @JavelinaSports on both Twitter and Instagram, liking the Javelina Sports Facebook page, subscribing to the Javelina Athletics YouTube Channel and visiting Javelinaathletics.com. Watch your Javelinas live today on the Javelina Sports Network sponsored by Mendoza's Pharmacy.
