KINGSVILLE, Texas – For the fourth straight year, the season for the Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team will begin in Houston, Texas, the site of the 2022 Arkansas Tech Winter Invitational, which, for the Javelinas, will begin on Friday and conclude on Sunday and will see the Blue and Gold take the field six times for games against non-conference opponents.
The Javs will start their season on Friday morning with an 11 a.m. matchup against Harding, followed later that day by a clash with Colorado School of Mines of 1:15 p.m. Saturday's schedule includes a 1:15 p.m. contest with Rogers State and a dual with Southern Nazarene at 3:30 p.m. TAMUK's time in Houston concludes on Sunday after they face off with Central Missouri at 1:15 p.m. and Southeastern Oklahoma State at 3:30 p.m.
One year ago, the Javelinas battled through a roller-coaster season to make their second straight appearance in the South Central Regional Tournament, taking down third-seeded Angelo State while they were there. In 2021, the Javs will be attempting to reach the national postseason for a third straight year, something the program has never before accomplished.
The list of players returning to Kingsville include all four of TAMUK's First-Team All-Lone Star Conference selections from 2021 and each of those individuals has carved their name into the TAMUK record book during their time in Kingsville.
One of those individuals is senior Loren Kelly (Rockport, Texas), who had already taken over the top spot in the program record book for stolen bases before the 2021 campaign started. Kelly also possessed the seventh best career batting average ever by a Javelina and, if she plays in 42 games in 2022, she'll have appeared in more games than any other Javelina softball player.
Only one spot behind Kelly on the all-time batting average leaderboard is junior Jory Cervantes (Pflugerville, Texas), who hit a career-best .379 a season ago, which stands as the eighth best single-season BA by a Javelina. She also led the team in hits, with 53, and runs scored, with 34.
No one had a more significant impact on the Javelina offense in 2021 than Kayla Gonzales (San Antonio, Texas), who hit .392 as a freshman, the highest mark ever for a Javelina rookie. Her 53 RBIs were also the second-most in the LSC and she finished in the top 10 in conference in hits, homers, total bases and slugging percentage.
Gonzales, Kelly and Cervantes all contributed to a team batting average of .324 in 2021, the highest team batting average in program history for one season.
The fourth Javelina named to the All-LSC First-Team in 2021 was Saidi Castillo (Kingsville, Texas), who headed up a Javelina pitching staff that posted a 2.71 ERA and had three hurlers in the top 20 in the conference in ERA. Sophomore Lizette del Angel's (Robstown, Texas) 9-4 record and team-best 2.33 ERA was good enough to earn her a spot on the LSC's All-Freshman Team, while sophomore Beth Montes (San Antonio, Texas) held opponents to a .194 mark at the plate, second-best in the LSC.
Be sure to check Javelinaathletics.com for updates throughout the weekend, including a recap at the conclusion of each day. 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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