SAN ANTONIO — Starting pitchers Beth Montes (San Antonio, Texas) and Saidi Castillo (Kingsville, Texas) combined to allow three earned runs on 11 hits and senior Kaylee Dietrich knocked in five runs as the Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team split a doubleheader with the St. Mary's Rattlers, taking the first game 4-2 but dropping the second, 3-2, on Sunday at the Softball Stadium in San Antonio, Texas.
The game one victory stretched the Javelinas' win streak to 19, which ties the program record set in 2019. The split pushes TAMUK's record to 19-2 overall and 3-1 in conference for the season. The Rattlers move to 19-4, with a 3-1 mark in league play.
GAME ONE
The Javs wasted no time denting home plate as Loren Kelly (Rockport, Texas) led off the game with a double before scampering home on a Jory Cervantes (Pflugerville, Texas) single, providing an early one-run advantage for the Blue and Gold.
In the third, the Javelinas extended their lead, as a single, a walk, and a groundout put runners in scoring position for senior Kaylee Dietrich (Phoenix, Arizona) and she plated two runs with an RBI single to give the Javelinas a 3-0 lead.
The Rattlers cut the Javelinas lead to one in the fourth, as they plated a pair of runs on a home run and a single, but the Javs picked up an insurance run in the sixth on a solo blast to left field by Dietrich, her third homer of the year.
After the Rattler runs in the fourth, Montes allowed only one hit for the rest of the afternoon and her performance was good enough to push her record to 6-0 on the season. Sophomore Lizette Del Angel (Robstown, Texas) came in and pitched the final 2 and 2/3 innings, earning her first save of the season.
GAME TWO
St. Mary's opened the scoring in the third, pushing across two runs on an RBI double and a sacrifice fly, but Castillo kept their lineup in check for most of the rest of the day, allowing only five hits, four of which were singles.
Though they had seven hits, the Javs were held off the scoreboard until the seventh, when a pair one-out singles started a rally. Two batters later, Dietrich ripped a two-run, game-tying double into right-center and after a scoreless bottom of the seventh, the game headed for extra innings.
Unfortunately for the Javelinas, the Rattlers broke that tie in the eighth, as three walks and an error pushed across the run that snapped TAMUK's win streak at 19.
The Javelinas return to the friendly confines of Vernie and Blanche Hubert Field for a pair of doubleheaders, starting with Cameron University on Friday, March 11, with first pitch slated for 4 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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