KINGSVILLE, Texas- The Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball team opens the 2022 campaign this Saturday as they welcome the Cameron Aggies into Nolan Ryan Field for a four-game Lone Star Conference series. First pitch of the day one doubleheader is slated for 1p.m., with a second-seven inning contest scheduled to start 30 minutes following the conclusion of game one.
Game three is scheduled Sunday at 2 p.m., before the season finale Monday at 1 p.m.
The Javelinas return three all-conference selections that helped the team compile a 21-12 overall record in 2021, while going 19-10 in league play and reaching the LSC Championships for the 11th time in coach Jason Gonzales's career.
Additionally, the Hogs are chasing redemption after narrowly missing out on the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament in 2021. The Pack's last appearance came in 2018 when they won the event, earning a berth to the NCAA Division II College World Series for the first time in program history.
The list of all-conference returners include the reigning LSC Newcomer of the Year, senior Logan Garza (Round Rock, Texas), and senior Kolby Lunsford, who dominated on the rubber, finishing the season with a 4.94 ERA across 54 2/3 innings. Rounding out the trio, senior Giancarlo Servin (Edinburg, Texas) maintained a .337 average collecting 31 hits, three doubles, and four home runs.
Garza and Lunsford figure to form part of the core of a Javelina pitching staff also includes senior returner Mason Foster (Dilley, Texas) and newcomers Robbie Spencer (Portland, Texas), Kobe Jaramillo (Bishop, Texas) and Luis Martinez (Grulla, Texas).
Among Javelina relievers, no one threw more innings than Foster in 2021 and he pitched to a 2.65 ERA through his first 12 appearances, including an outing against St. Mary's in which he fired five innings of one-hit ball.
Spencer joins the staff after finishing his high school career with a senior season in which he crafted a 1.30 ERA and piled up 96 strikeouts while going 11-2. Jaramillo and Martinez come to Kingsville after spending 2021 with Division I programs. Jaramillo tossed 27 innings for UTSA in his freshman season, while Martinez toed the slab for Incarnate Word following a 2020 campaign at Coastal Bend College in which he pitched to a 1.89 ERA.
The Aggies were picked 12th in the LSC Preseason Poll, after a year in which they went 8-31, with an 8-25 conference record. They return a pair of All-LSC competitors in Jayce Clem, a utility plater that hit .366, plating 28 and recording 11 homers, and Beau Williams, who scored 30 runs, with a .301 batting average.
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