KINGSVILLE, Texas – After passing one of their toughest tests of the season on the road against two top 10 teams, the No. 7 Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team has another challenging weekend on tap against two more talented opponents, starting on Friday with a doubleheader starting at 4 p.m. against the No. 15 Lubbock Christian Lady Chaps, followed by two games on Sunday with the No. 11 Angelo State Rambelles scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. at Vernie and Blanche Hubert Field in Kingsville, Texas.
TAMUK is coming off a 5-1 week that was capped by a sweep of the then-No. 9 Texas A&M-Commerce Lions. Those two victories upped the Javs Lone Start Conference record to 15-5, putting them just a game behind a group of four teams that are sharing first place.
One of the teams stuck in that deadlock is LCU and they just finished a perfect weekend on the road that included sweeps of Texas Woman's and Midwestern State. The Lady Chaps are seeking their first conference championship since they took home the Heartland Conference Tournament title in 2016.
Both of LCU's victories against the Mustangs were claimed by senior Taylor Franco, who's amassed a conference-best 17 wins to go with a 1.82 ERA. Franco's only loss came on March 12th and in the 10 appearances she's made since then, the Monahan, Texas native has allowed only six earned runs and she's tossed two no-hitters, including a seven inning no-no against the No. 1 ranked UT Tyler Patriots.
Not far behind Franco on the conference leaderboard is ASU's Genesis Armendariz, who owns 15 victories and hasn't lost in more than a month. Armendariz pitched against the Javelinas twice in 2021, tossing eight innings of one-run ball against TAMUK in an April 18th ASU win before the Javs tagged her for three runs in 3 1/3 innings when the teams met in the regional tournament.
The Rambelles' most dangerous hitter has been junior Paxton Scheurer, whose 19 homers are the second-most in the nation and have led the way for an ASU offense that's tied for the national lead in long balls with 55. Scheurer has four multi-homer games to her credit in 2022, including a three-homer six RBI day against UT Permian Basin on March 18th.
The challenge for ASU and LCU's lineups will be attempting to solve a pitching staff that's been entrenched atop the conference's ERA rankings throughout the season. Sophomore Beth Montes (San Antonio, Texas), freshman Carissa De Los Santos (Kingsville, Texas) and junior Saidi Castillo (Kingsville, Texas) all own ERAs under 2.00 and sophomore Lizette del Angel (Robstown, Texas) just boosted her record to 6-1 with four innings of one-hit relief on Sunday.
This staff has received plenty of run support from a Javelina lineup that is second in the nation in runs scored. One of the heroes of the last week was senior Jennifer Giesey (Crystal Lake, Ill.), who was named LSC Hitter of the Week after batting .462 with six RBIs. The Javelinas can also lay claim to three hitters who are in the top 10 in the conference in RBIs, including sophomore Kayla Gonzales (San Antonio, Texas) and junior Matisen Onofrei (Mesa, Ariz.), who've both knocked in 45, tied for the second-most in the LSC.
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.
Get the Official Javelina Athletics Mobile App presented by Whataburger today! Download on the App Store or Get It on Google Play to keep up with all the news, scores and updates of your favorite Javelinas.
