KINGSVILLE, Texas – Playing in a conference that can claim seven of the teams ranked in the most recent National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 poll, the No. 12 Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team is about to pay a visit to two of those teams, starting on Friday, when they'll play a doubleheader against the No. 2 UT Tyler Patriots starting at 4 p.m. at Suddenlink Field at the UT Tyler Ballpark in Tyler, Texas, then the Javelinas will travel to Commerce, Texas for two games starting at 12 p.m. against the No. 9 Texas A&M-Commerce Lions at the John Cain Family Softball Complex.
The Patriots won the Lone Star Conference Championship in the regular season in 2021, but they were ineligible to participate to postseason play as they were in process of transitioning from Division III. Coach Mike Reed has seen his squad rack up a 27-3 record, the best in the LSC and they're 13-3 in league play.
UTT's greatest strength through 30 games has been a lineup that's posted the nation's best slugging percentage at .608 and highest on-base percentage at .468. Every Patriot player who's logged more than 40 at-bats in 2022 has an on-base percentage over .400 and no one owns a high clip than sophomore Tatum Goff, who's OBP is at .556. Goff is also one of two players slugging well over .800, as she and classmate Michelle Arias have combined for 14 homes and better than 50 RBIs in just over 100 at-bats.
The Lions have shown plenty of pop in their bats as well, with their total of 42 homers tied for second-best in the LSC. This power can be found up and down coach Gay McNutt's lineup, as 11 different players have gone deep for TAMUC to this point in the season, led by sophomore Alyssa LeBlanc and her eight long balls. McNutt's minions have also been active on the basepaths throughout the year, stealing 110 bases, a total that ranks second in Division II.
The efforts of the TAMUC offense, as well as a pitching staff that owns a 2.64 ERA for the season, has allowed the Lions to climb into first place in the LSC with a 14-2 record that has them up a game on the Patriots. The Lions enter the first weekend in April having won 15 of their last 17, a stretch that includes road sweeps of West Texas A&M and Lubbock Christian.
Both of these teams will be attempting to solve a Javelina lineup that's given fits to nearly every pitching staff they've faced. TAMUK's .386 batting average is the country's second-best and they're also second in the NCAA in runs scored and have churned out 83 doubles, the most in the nation. Four different Javelinas are in the top 10 in the conference in hits led by junior Jory Cervantes (Pflugerville, Texas) and her 51, tied for the seventh-highest total in Division II.
TAMUK's pitching staff has put together the nation's eighth-best ERA at 1.60 and during the team's current six-game win streak, Javelina pitchers have permitted only five runs. Freshman Carissa De Los Santos (Kingsville, Texas), sophomore Beth Montes (San Antonio, Texas) and junior Saidi Castillo (Kingsville, Texas) rank second, third and seventh in the conference in ERA, respectively. No one on the Blue and Gold roster has thrown more innings than Montes, who's totaled 71 2/3 innings pitched and has allowed more than two earned runs just twice in 15 appearances.
Fans can keep up with all the action in both doubleheaders by visiting Javelinaathletics.com, where links will be available for live stats, live video and a postgame recap. 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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