CANYON, Texas – Despite senior Loren Kelly (Rockport, Texas) totaling five hits on the day, the No. 9 Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team suffered a pair of defeats at the hands of the No. 6 West Texas A&M Lady Buffs by scores of 8-7 and 8-2 on Sunday afternoon in Lone Star Conference action at Schaeffer Park in Canyon, Texas.
This is the first time in 2022 the Javelinas have suffered back-to-back losses and it puts their overall record at 24-5 and their conference mark at 8-4. WT is 18-7 and 7-5.
GAME ONE
The Lady Buffs were the first team out of the gate, starting the scoring with a Diana Murtha RBI single in the first inning.
In the third, the Javelinas put together their first threat of the day, loading the bases with one out and when junior Matisen Onofrei (Mesa, Ariz.) was hit by a pitch, TAMUK tied the score. It was a short-lived tie however, as WT immediately pushed across another run in their half of the third and added a three-run Brittni Rufus homer in the fifth.
The Lady Buffs' lead eventually grew to 7-1 heading into the seventh, but that's when the Javelina offense came to life. The first three batters of the frame singles and, after a groundout plated the first run of the inning, two more came in on a WT error. Two batters later, freshman Aaliyah Ortiz (San Antonio, Texas) ripped a two-run homer over the wall in left to cut TAMUK's deficit to one.
With the Javelinas still down to their last out, sophomore Natalie Rodriguez (Edinburg, Texas) reached on an error and freshman Rylee Oborski (Salado, Texas) laced an RBI double into left to tie the score. Oborski soon moved to third on a wild pitch, but the Javs couldn't find a way to plate the go-ahead run.
In the bottom of the seventh, a walk, an error and a fielder's choice loaded the bases and Gabriella Valforte delivered the game-winning hit.
GAME TWO
The early lead once again was grabbed the by the home team in the form of a first-inning run, but the Javelinas immediately matched that tally with solo blast courtesy Onofrei in the second.
The teams exchanged runs again starting with an RBI groundout by Valforte in the third, followed by an RBI single from Kelly in the fourth, but WT soon retook the lead for good.
Three runs came in for the home team in the fourth and they tacked on three more in the fifth, keyed by a two-run Megan Guericke single.
The Javelinas will have a chance to return to form on Friday, when they host the UT Permian Basin Falcons in a doubleheader at Hubert Field. 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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