KINGSVILLE, Texas- Following a week of rest, the Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball team is headed to the Capital City for a four-game Lone Star Conference Series against the St. Edwards Hilltoppers at Lucian-Hamilton Field beginning Thursday at 2 p.m. The Javelinas were also listed as receiving votes in the Wednesday National Collegiate Baseball Writers Associations Top 25 poll. 
 
The No. RV Javelinas (23-11, 21-11 LSC) take on the Hilltoppers (22-18, 22-18 LSC), with TAMUK entering the contest fourth in the conference with a .656-win percentage, while SEU maintains sixth at .550. 
 
The Javs last competed on Sunday, April. 3 as they wrapped up a series-sweep over Texas A&M International. The team outscored the Dustdevils 20-10, in a weekend that featured a slew of pitching duels. Additionally, the Javelinas stretched their win streak to five, the second-best mark in the league. 
 
The Blue and Gold staff continues to be the most dominant in the conference, with an ERA of 4.37 and a WHIP of 1.40 that tops the LSC. Additionally, the pitchers combine for 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings while keeping opponents to a .250 batting average. 
 
The Javelina hitters are led by sophomore Shelby Becker (Giddings, Texas), who's hitting .383 with 17 RBIs and 30 runs scored, while classmate Jake Chapman (Boerne, Texas), holds an average of .336 with 27 runs plated. Nobody has more home runs on the team than senior Giancarlo Servin (Edinburg, Texas), whose seven round-trippers allow him to slug .597 for a 1.026 OPS. Sophomore Ivan Duarte (Juarez, Mexico) has the squad's top on-base percentage at .477, with 27 hits and 21 walks. 
 
The Hilltoppers, meanwhile, split against the Dustdevils last week, bookending the series with wins in game one and game four. Their pitchers maintain a 5.38 ERA, with Wesley Gafford boasting the highest win total on the team at six, a figure that's fourth in the LSC. Gafford also has the best strikeout-to-walk ratio in the league at 4.57, while his teammate Luke Short leads in total punchouts at 71.
 
At the plate, SEU holds a .295 average, a figure that's aided by Stacey Bailey, who tops the team at .358, with an OPS of 1.212. Bailey leads the Hilltoppers in home runs as well, with the sophomore infielder mashing 12 long balls on the year, the second-most in the league, The St. Edwards hitters excel at drawing walks, with the squad ranked 17th in the nation, taking 191 bases on balls. 
 
After nine innings on Thursday, the teams will meet in a Friday doubleheader at 1 p.m., before the series finale Saturday at 1 p.m. Be sure to check Javelinaathletics.com for updates throughout the weekend, including a recap at the conclusion of each day. Watch your Javelinas live on the Javelina Sports Network sponsored by Mendoza's Pharmacy. Stay up-to-date with everything Javelina baseball at JavelinaAthletics.com, follow the program on Twitter @JavelinaBSB, and see recent news on Facebook at /JavelinaBSB.
 
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