KINGSVILLE, Texas – Another week of waiting and hoping is over for the No. 19 Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team and they're preparing to welcome a pair of conference rivals to Hubert Field in Kingsville, Texas, starting with the St. Edward's Hilltoppers, who will take on TAMUK in a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m., then the St. Mary's Rattlers will visit Kingsville for a Sunday twin bill, with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m.
During TAMUK's last full season in 2019, they posted a home record of 25-3 and began that home slate with a sweep of St. Edward's in February. St. Mary's however was one of the few teams to steal a game from the Javs at Hubert Field, splitting a doubleheader in March.
So far in 2021, despite dealing with numerous cancelations and postponements, the Javelinas are 5-1 and own the Lone Star Conference's second-best winning percentage. Much of the credit for that early success belongs to coach Craig Nicholson's pitching staff.
Three Javelina hurlers have already picked up wins through six games and senior Breanna Smith (San Antonio, Texas) owns three saves, the second-most in the nation. Sophomore Saidi Castillo (Kingsville, Texas) and freshman Beth Montes (San Antonio, Texas) each have two victories and in 27 2/3 innings pitched between them, they've combined to allow only four runs and five walks while striking out 38. Montes owns an average of 12.6 strikeouts per seven innings, tops in the LSC and ninth in the nation. Castillo leads the conference with a .109 batting average against.
At the dish, two of TAMUK's newcomers have started the year swinging the hottest bats: freshman Kayla Gonzales (San Antonio, Texas) and junior Jennifer Giesey (Crystal Lake, Ill.). Gonzales has opened her collegiate career with 11 hits in 19 at-bats, good enough for a .579 clip that's the LSC's fifth-best and she also has a team-high eight RBIs. Giesey has hit .429 through six games and half of her six hits have gone for extra bases.
The Rattlers opened their conference schedule on Thursday, visiting Texas A&M International for two games to try and even their 4-6 record. This will be the third and fourth games against TAMUK for StMU in 2021, with the Javelinas having won the first two. The most impressive wins on the Rattlers' resume so far this year are two road wins over a Texas A&M-Commerce squad that entered the season ranked at No. 9 in the nation.
The Hilltoppers have only played four games in 2021 but they own a mark of 3-1 and have hit .443 through those four contests. Freshman Alexis Massie has rattled off eight hits in 14 at-bats, including three home runs and three doubles and she's driven in a run in every game. Genisa Marrero-Carter, Lauren Werning and Valerie Brant all also own averages over .500 and Marrero-Carter has had multiple hits in all four SEU games.
Fans can tune in for complete coverage of every Javelina softball game this weekend by visiting Javelinaathletics.com, where there will be links to live video and live stats and a recap of each contest. 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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