KINGSVILLE, Texas – One week after traveling to Odessa, Texas and Silver City, New Mexico, the No. 12 Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team will make a much shorter journey, heading to Laredo, Texas to take on the Texas A&M International Dustdevils on Thursday in a doubleheader scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at Dustdevil Softball Field.
Despite the long trips to their last two destinations, the Javelinas had success against both the UT Permian Basin Falcons and Western New Mexico Mustangs, sweeping doubleheaders against both opponents.
No one swung a hotter bat during her team's last four games than junior Claire Chernosky (Sugar Land, Texas). She owns nine hits in her last 14 at-bats, good enough for a .643 average and that hot stretch has pushed her average from .275 to .354. She's also driven in six runs in her last four games, including her first homer of the season, which came on Friday in Odessa.
Not far behind Chernosky is sophomore Jory Cervantes (Pflugerville, Texas), who is 10-for-her-last-16 and hitting .448 for the season. Cervantes' 39 hits are tied with teammate Kayla Gonzales (San Antonio, Texas) for fourth-most in the LSC and Cervantes has owned an average of better than .350 since March 12th. In her last 17 games, she's recorded multiple hits 11 times.
Freshman hurler Lizette Del Angel (Calallen, Texas) enters Thursday's twin bill off her best start as a Javelina. In TAMUK's first game against WNMU, she tossed a complete-game shutout, giving up only six hits and not walking a batter while striking out seven. Del Angel's 1.56 ERA is her team's best and she has yet to have an outing in which she's given up more than two earned runs.
The Dustdevils are one of the hottest teams in the Lone Star Conference and they're riding a seven-game win streak. Four of those victories have been shutouts, including a five-inning perfect game tossed by Erika Cortez on March 21st. In Cortez's last start, she fired a complete-game one-hitter against UT Permian Basin with 14 strikeouts. Her 2.19 ERA is the eighth-best in the LSC.
Offensively, TAMIU can claim the conference's fourth-highest batting average at .324. Juniors Darrian Smith and Briana Arredondo are both in the top 10 in the LSC in slugging percentage and Arredondo has driven in 36 RBIs, tied for fourth most in Division II. That total in includes 20 RBIs in her last six games.
To catch all the action in Laredo, visit Javelinaathletics.com, where you can find links to live video and up-to-the-minute stats and a recap will also be published at the conclusion of Thursday's doubleheader. 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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