KINGSVILLE, Texas - True freshman Beth Montes (San Antonio, Texas) stood tall in the circle today as she hurled the seventh no-hitter for the No. 19 Texas A&M-Kingsville program on Saturday to highlight a pair of wins in a Lone Star Conference doubleheader against St. Edward's at Vernie and Blanche Hubert Field.
"I thought she had a really good day," said head coach Craig Nicholson, as Beth Montes became the final stop in the second half of the doubleheader to preserve the win. "The big thing is she is our only pitcher who had a normal week throwing bullpens, which is why we let her throw in game one.
"I thought she pitched great in the first game and came back in a tight spot, made a couple good pitches and closed down the second one. So yeah, great day for her."
The Javelinas (7-1, 2-0 LSC) rode Beth Montes' arm in the first game for a 6-0 shutout of the Hilltoppers (3-3, 0-2 LSC) and had her shut the door on a one-out rally in the bottom of the seventh of game two for an 8-5 decision.
GAME ONE
Beth Montes struck out five and allowed only one walk in the opening game of the day. The only leadoff batter to reach safely was Genisa Marrero-Carter in the top of the first as she was plunked on the first pitch of the game, but the mistake was soon wiped away as Marrero-Carter was caught on a back pick from sophomore Matisen Onofrei (Mesa, Ariz.) with two outs to end the inning.
The only batters to reach safely in the game was a Morgan Arcia hit-by-pitch in the top of the third as she swapped places with Kaylee McQuillan in the next at-bat on the fielder's choice. McQuillan later reached on an error in the top of the sixth that made little difference as the next two Hilltoppers popped out, while a walk issued to Jordan Neely in the top of the seventh became the final scoring opportunity.
Meanwhile, freshman Kayla Gonzales (San Antonio, Texas) put the hosts on the board with a single dropped into right in the bottom of the opening frame that resulted in redshirt sophomore Jory Cervantes (Pflugerville, Texas) crossing the plate after an errant throw from the outfield skipped away from third base.
The Javelinas added two more in the fifth as Gonzales ripped a double to right that plated Cervantes and freshman Sarah Montes (San Antonio, Texas). Freshman Katherine Flores (Corpus Christi, Texas) started a three-run rally in the sixth with an RBI double to the left center gap that scored classmate Natalie Rodriguez (Edinburg, Texas), while junior Loren Kelly (Rockport, Texas) pushed sophomore Yvonne Castillo (Leander, Texas) home on a bunt to third base and Gonzales capped the rally with an RBI single to scenter that brought Cervantes home.
The first no-hitter of 2021 was punctuated by Beth Montes' fifth strikeout of the day as she took six pitches to sit down Valerie Brant.
It is the seventh no-hitter in program history, but only the fourth that went seven innings. The last no-hitter was a seven-inning affair from senior Breanna Smith (San Antonio, Texas) in a 5-0 blanking of Midwestern State on April 19, 2019, as she struck out 10 in the contest.
The 2019 season saw three no-hitters total as Smith also threw a five-inning no-no against SEU on February 5, while sophomore Saidi Castillo (Kingsville, Texas) one-upped her on March 22 with a five-inning perfect game against Eastern New Mexico featuring nine strikeouts, the second perfect game ever in program history.
GAME TWO
The second game of the day became a back-and-forth affair with the visitors holding the momentum most of the game. TAMUK found the plate in the bottom of the first after Kelly moved up to third on a bunt single from Cervantes and ended up scoring on an error throw.
SEU got two runs in the top of the third against Smith who was billed as the starter when Alexis Massie dropped a triple down the right field line that plated Marrero-Carter an McQuillan. The Javelinas knotted the game not long after on a solo shot to left from Onofrei in the bottom of the fourth, her second long ball of the season.
The Hilltoppers grew their lead starting in the fifth inning when a two-run single to center from Neely capped Marrero-Carter and Brant. The sixth frame turned out to be the busiest of the day as Lauren Werning dropped a grounder to second that gave Charlotte Nuccio enough room to make the score 5-2 in favor of the visitors.
The Javelinas wasted little time in their half of the sixth as three consecutive walks loaded the bases for Onofrei who pushed the first run home on a single that bounced through the right side of the infield.
A two-run single to right from Rodriguez tied the game at 5-5, while a misplayed groundball back to the pitcher from Flores put the Blue and Gold ahead for good as Onofrei scored on the error.
TAMUK got two more in the stanza, first on a bounding-ball single into left from Kelly that plated Rodriguez, while freshman Breanna Carr (Kingsville, Texas) scored on a sacrifice fly to right from Cervantes.
The 8-5 lead shined on the scoreboard in the seventh after Smith was replaced by Castillo in the fifth. Castillo struck out the first batter she faced in the final at bat but a walk and a single down the left field line prompted the switch to Beth Montes for the final two outs. She soon worked a 2-2 count on Neely and the ensuing groundball was scooped by junior Jennifer Giesey (Crystal Lake, Ill.) and converted into two outs to end the game.
Smith took the no-decision with two strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work. Castillo was credited with her third win after striking out three in two innings, while Beth Montes picked up her first save.
The Javelinas return to action tomorrow with another LSC doubleheader on tap against St. Mary's starting at 12 p.m. CT at Vernie and Blanch Hubert Field.
Download the Official Javelina Athletics Mobile App presented by Whataburger today! Download on the App Store or Get It on Google Play to find news, scores, and highlights of your favorite Javelinas!
Watch your Javelinas live on the Javelina Sports Network presented by Mendoza's Pharmacy. To keep up-to-date with Javelina softball, follow the program on Facebook at /JavelinaSports or on Twitter @TAMUKSB
######
