KINGSVILLE, Texas – The No. 12 Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team held a lead in game one and nearly completed a comeback in game two but ended up dropping both ends of a doubleheader to the No. 5 UT Tyler Patriots by scores of 7-2 and 5-4 in Lone Star Conference action on Friday night at Vernie and Blanche Hubert Field in Kingsville, Texas.
The Javelinas have now suffered three losses in their last four games to fall to 21-8 overall and 13-5 in the conference. The Patriots remain on top of the LSC with a 17-1 mark and are 23-5 overall.
GAME ONE
The Javs used small ball to jump on top first, as junior Loren Kelly (Rockport, Texas) singled, stole second, took third on a groundout and scored when freshman Kayla Gonzales (San Antonio, Texas) lifted a sacrifice fly to left.
Unfortunately for the Javelinas, that was a short-lived lead. Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases with nobody out in the second and fielder's choice tallied the run that tied the score. Two batters later, a Courtney Plocheck double brought in a pair to put the visitors on top, 3-1.
TAMUK had a chance to put together a big inning of their own when they loaded the bases with nobody out in the third. Tyler's Payton Foster got the first out of the frame on a popup, but Gonzales was then hit by a pitch to force across her team's second run. Foster then snuffed out the rally by inducing double play and that would be the last chance the Javs would get to tie the game.
The Patriots sent across two more runs in the fourth and added a pair in the seventh to stretch their lead to five. Foster held TAMUK to only three hits over the last four innings to collect her 10th win.
GAME TWO
The visitors seized the early edge in the nightcap with a first inning rally that began with consecutive walks. After a fielder's choice and a stolen base put runners on second and third, a wild pitch on ball four to Bayli Simon allowed the first run to score. Amanda Marek then dropped a two-run double into right and later scored on an error to complete a four-run inning for the Patriots.
A fifth run was tacked on to the lead in the fourth when Shelby Hughston homered and this looked like plenty of support for starting pitching Erin Hill, who allowed just two hits through the first five innings. At one point she retired 12 in a row while carrying her team's 5-0 edge into the sixth.
The Javelina offense woke up in the sixth, using two singles and a walk to load the bases with one out and junior Anastasia Leibas (Del Valle, Texas) was hit by a pitch to force in TAMUK's first run. A fielder's choice plated sophomore Jory Cervantes (Pflugerville, Texas) and when the Patriots committed an error one batter later, two more runs came across to make the score 5-4. Another hit and a walk loaded the bases again with two outs, but a close call on a 2-2 pitch went against the Javs, resulting in a strikeout that killed TAMUK's best chance to tie the score.
Sunday brings with it another opportunity, with the Javelinas scheduled to face the No. 5 Texas A&M-Commerce Lions in a twin bill scheduled to begin 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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