DURANT, Okla. – Freshman Kayla Gonzales (San Antonio, Texas) went 3-for-3 with a double, a homer and three RBIs and the No. 18 Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team trounced the Southeastern Oklahoma State Savage Storm, 9-1, on Monday afternoon at Dawson Field in Durant, Okla.
The Javelinas are now 4-1 during their current seven-game road trip and 13-2 overall. SEOSU saw its seven-game win streak snapped and they're now 10-2.
"Lizette [Del Angel] pitched a nice game and our offense was pretty opportunistic today," said coach Craig Nicholson. "They made a couple mistakes early and we did a good job taking advantage. We also had seven extra base hits and were able to add to our early lead."
It didn't take long for the Javelinas to seize the initiative, as they began the day with four straight singles, the last two coming from Gonzales and junior Anastasia Leibas (Del Valle, Texas) and each driving in a run. Two batters later, Gonzales came across on a double steal and the inning's fourth run scored on an infield hit by junior Jennifer Giesey (Crystal Lake, Ill.) followed by an error.
In the second, Gonzales crushed a two-run homer to left to make the score 6-0 and one inning later, freshman Natalie Rodriguez (Edinburg, Texas) doubled, moved to third on a single and tallied her team's seventh run moments later during a rundown.
The Savage Storm got a run back in the third, but that was all Javelina starter Lizette Del Angel (Robstown, Texas) would allow. She held the home team to six hits, only one of which went for extra bases, and walked just one with six strikeouts. Her record now stands at 4-1 with a 1.91 ERA.
In the fifth, Rodriguez led off with a double, then three batters later, junior Claire Chernosky (Sugar Land, Texas) lined one into the gap in left-center for a two-bagger of her own that sent Rodriguez across. Freshman Sarah Montes (San Antonio, Texas) followed with another double for her first collegiate hit, scoring Chernosky to make the score 9-1. Del Angel did the rest by tossing a perfect bottom of the fifth.
The Javelinas will cross state lines on Tuesday to play a doubleheader against the No. 1 Southern Arkansas Muleriders at 1 p.m. 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.
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