ODESSA, Texas – Sophomore Jory Cervantes (Pflugerville, Texas) and junior Claire Chernosky (Sugar Land, Texas) combined to pound out nine hits and junior Jennifer Giesey (Crystal Lake, Ill.) provided a clutch, three-run homer to help the No. 14 Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team record two wins over the UT Permian Basin Falcons, 7-2 and 11-7, in Lone Star Conference action on Friday evening at the UTPB Softball Complex in Odessa, Texas.
These two wins push TAMUK to 18-5 and 11-3 in LSC competition, tied for third-best in the conference. UTPB is 1-13 in league play at 3-21 overall.
GAME ONE
Junior Anastasia Leibas (Del Valle, Texas) got the Javelina offense started with a two-run blast to right-center in the first, but the Falcons immediately picked up a run of their own in the bottom of the frame.
In the third, a pair of Javelina singles brought up freshman Natalie Rodriguez (Edinburg, Texas), who laced a two-run double into the gap in left-center, making the score 4-1. The Falcons pushed across their second run in the fifth, but the Blue and Gold immediately answered with one run in the sixth. Rodriguez's second two-run double of the day came one inning later to provide the visitors with a little more insurance.
Sophomore Saidi Castillo (Kingsville, Texas) went the distance to garner her eighth win of the year. She held the Falcons to just six hits and one walk while striking out four. This marked the ninth time in 10 starts Castillo has allowed two earned runs or less.
GAME TWO
The Javelinas quickly found themselves behind the eight-ball in second game thanks to a four-run Falcon first inning. The last run came on a sacrifice fly, but the Javs also recorded two outs on the play to get out of the inning.
The 4-0 deficit was completely erased when TAMUK exploded for a seven-run fifth inning. Sophomore Matisen Onofrei (Mesa, Ariz.) started the frame with a double, took third on a wild pitch and scored on a fielder's choice. A double runners on second and third for Chernosky and her hit through the middle tallied the second run of the stanza.
Junior Loren Kelly (Rockport, Texas) singled in her team's third run and freshman Breanna Carr (Kingsville, Texas) came across one batter later to even the score. The go-ahead knock was provided by freshman Kayla Gonzales (Kingsville, Texas) in the form of a single to left and Leibas quickly added an RBI double. Onofrei capped the rally with single to left that plated Leibas and upped her team's advantage to 7-4.
TAMUK's comeback did not deter the Falcons, who sliced their deficit to one in the bottom of the fifth, before an Emily Andress RBI triple in the sixth pulled the home team even. It was Giesey who put the Javs back on top in the seventh. Coming up with two on and one out, she cracked the first pitch she saw over the wall in left-center to make the score 10-7. Chernosky then tacked on an insurance run with her own round-tripper. UTPB attempted to rally again in the bottom of the frame, loading the bases with nobody out, but senior Breanna Smith (San Antonio, Texas) stranded all three runners and escaped with her first win.
Silver City, N.M. is the next destination for the Javelinas, who will compete in a doubleheader against the Western New Mexico Mustangs on Sunday starting at 12 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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